Neighborhood - Southeast Como Improvement Association

The Como Neighborhood (also called Southeast Como) is in southeast Minneapolis about one mile north of the Dinkytown commercial area and the east bank campus of the University of the Minnesota.

Como is transected by its namesake Como Avenue and by East Hennepin Avenue.

Its boundaries are the city limit to the east (near Highway 280), the Southeast Industrial Area to the south of Elm Street, Interstate 35W and the Burlington Northern mainline to the west, and the Mid-City Industrial Area to the north.

Neighborhood Description

The high-traffic business roads, industry, abandoned industrial sites, and active railroads that surround Como contrast sharply with the residential character of the neighborhood.

The housing stock consists of modest early 20th-century bungalows and Victorian and twenties-era homes mixed with a scattering of newer duplexes and single family homes. Some areas (e.g. along Como, 15th and Hennepin Avenues) have post-60’s two-story walk-up apartment buildings.

Within Como are Tuttle School building which Minneapolis Public Schools leases to two charter schools, the large public Van Cleve Park, a new University child care center, and Como Student Housing.

Commercial activity is focused on Como and East Hennepin Avenues. The neighborhood is served by two convenience grocery stores (including one with a laundromat and deli) and a number of small service businesses, including a hardware store, a barber, a dentist, two coffee houses, three bar/restaurants, a diner, a car parts store, several auto repair garages, and several gas stations.

Como is home to three churches and a mosque.

Demographics

According to 2020 census figures, 6,455 people make their homes in the Como neighborhood, in a total of 2,320 housing units. Of these, 16% were owner-occupied homes and 74.5% were rental units.

The 2020 ethnic/racial makeup of the neighborhood is 72% Caucasian, 12% Asian American, 3% African American, and 9% Hispanic.

According to the 2020 census, 84% of the Como population is under 35 years old, with 55% of the population between 18 and 24 years old, and only 4% age 65 or older.