The MOtley area of prospect park

Motley makes up the western edge of Prospect Park south of SE Washington Avenue, where the neighborhood blends into the University of Minnesota. Home to a mix of student rentals, a few long-term homeowners, and businesses, Motley has experienced rapid change.

Beginning in 1971, the University began acquiring most of the single-family homes in the area with an eye to expand east of SE Oak Street, which had been its unofficial eastern boundary. Not without neighborhood opposition, the University built the 4-story parking ramp at SE Delaware St and SE Oak St. In 1996 in a major move the University refused to sell off many of the homes in the heart of Motley, and instead tore down an entire square block bounded by SE Essex Street, SE Erie St, SE Fulton St and SE Ontario St.

In the 2010s, several new high-rise student apartment complexes were built, increasing the area's population density and altering its character.

In 2016, M Health, the University of Minnesota Medical Center opened a state-of-the-art Clinics and Surgery center occupying an entire city block just north of Fulton St off the Huron Boulevard exit of I-94. The entire square block to the east was then torn down and converted to a surface parking lot.