Downtown Minneapolis Construction Update!

[Twin Cities]

The downtown population is already over 27,000, which exceeds the city's 2010 plan population target! There are plenty of projects currently under construction within downtown. Here's a few of them.

Along Washington Ave.

New Guthrie

New Central Library

Children's Theatre Expansion

Walker Art Museum Expansion

Shubert Theatre Restoration

Minneapolis Institute of the Arts Expansion

University of St. Thomas Expansion

Grant Park: Update

88 percent of the Grant Park units are sold -- including two of the $4 million penthouses -- some people can't move in until the highest floors are finished in 2005.

New Park Ave. Lofts.

Metropolitan Lofts

607 Washington Avenue South

Humboldt Lofts

Basset Creek Lofts

Rock Island Lofts

The Reserve

Bookmen Lofts

Before:

Now:

710 Lofts

6 Quebec

[Neo]

Awesome thread! Thanks for the update!

[Allan]

Great news for Minneapolis! I never would've imagined there were that many projects being built downtown. Thanks for the update!

[turlough]

Cool Thread I really like how many lofts are being built

[JS9]

Dude, you forgot Bridge Place. Plus, with the lot on Nicollet (by Dain Rausher) being planned as we speak.....we are building some buildings with some height, too.

[Twin Cities]

I realize that I missed quite a few, but I was on my way out so I thought that I would post the others later. I will add to the list soon.

[Cotuit]

This one is wicked cool! I wanna live there!

[Jaden]

It's right smack in the middle of downtown too. Across the street from Wells Fargo Center. Nice locale, if you ask me. There's an Arby's inside....an ice cream place....skyway connectios to all of downtown.

Perfect, if ya gots the cash.

[Scott]

Wicked Pissah!! B)

[bobliocatt]

It looks like loft projects are the thing here. Nice thread!

[Allan]

Hopefully other cities will catch on to Minneapolis' loft building trend .

[M. Brown]

Looks good for Minneapolis

[JunktionFET]

I love downtown areas that are bustling with construction... it really emits an upbeat vibe.

[Twin Cities]

UPDATE

Grant Park

* 27 stories

* Under construction

The Carlyle

* 39 stories

* Now marketing and will break ground later this spring or early summer

Tandem Project

* 26-32 stories

* They will be marketing this tower soon

Pillsbury A Mill Project

* 27, 24, 20 and 15 story towers

* 1,040 units

* We will hear more about this development this summer as well.

Bookmen Stacks

* 8 stories

Lennox Rehab

Park Avenue Lofts

Washington Avenue Lofts

Metropolitan Lofts

*Each unit is two stories and prices start at $400K

212 Lofts

[mpls]

don't forget the "phoenix lofts." its in the saint anthony main area and is 17 stories and 150 units. its by schafer richardson and will break ground in spring. no rendering yet.

[Jaden]

Our city has gone loft and condo crazy!

[tocoto]

Some very nice looking projects. Minneapolis seems to be growing and that's good to hear for any northern city.

[Allan]

Even more great news for Minneapolis! I could only dream of having that many projects being built all at once in downtown Detroit. I can't wait to see Minneapolis in a few years!

[mpls]

it appears as though there may be two more condo towers coming to loring park:

-a 6 or 21 story building; the neighborhood is showing a little favor to the latter; the developer wants to break ground this summer.

-a prime piece of real estate will open up, it will no-doubt have a tower component

[Twin Cities]

Loring's glory

Terry Fiedler, Star Tribune

April 2, 2004

Loring Park, one of Minneapolis' most venerable neighborhoods, is experiencing a development boom that would make an exurb jealous.

Up to about $500 million in projects, many of them residential, either were begun or brought to the market in the past year or on the drawing boards now, according to John Van Heel, president of Citizens for a Loring Park Community, a neighborhood nonprofit.

Among the projects under consideration is a 21-story residential tower and what could be easily be a $100 million condo and apartment complex at a site currently occupied by Allina Hospitals and Clinics.

Michael McLaughlin, executive director of the Loring Business Association, called the amount of current and potential investment "stunning."

Mary Bujold, president of Maxfield Research, a real estate research and consulting firm, described the building as the largest wave of activity in the area since the early '80s. Development activity may be greater along the river or in the Minneapolis warehouse district, Bujold said, but Loring stands out because it's a long-established residential neighborhood rather than a commercial area being converted to residential use.

Bujold said the sale of desirable properties by longtime land owners and strong overall demand for urban homes -- driven by factors such as commuting concerns, increased numbers of empty-nesters and low interest rates -- have helped to create the development wave.

City Council Member Lisa Goodman, who lives in the neighborhood and represents it, emphasized that the residential projects are being developed without city subsidies and that the city's tax base will grow because projects are, in many cases, sprouting from parking lots or buildings that have been in disuse.

In the case of the Allina's 2.5-acre site, the property once again will go on the tax rolls after it's redeveloped.

Allina has been housing about 300 information technology employees in the old Eitel Hospital complex, and the workers will be moved into the Sears building site late in 2005.

Allina spokeswoman Kendra Calhoun said the company received proposals for the site this week and expects to have a purchase agreement completed within the next few months.

Van Heel said the Allina site is easily the most important in the Loring area because of its size and its location fronting the park. When fully developed, it's expected to have hundreds of condos and apartments that would make it worth about $100 million, he estimated.

The original Eitel Hospital building, built in 1911, is expected to be renovated, and other additions to the original building will be demolished.

Even before the Eitel Hospital was built, Loring was a well-heeled neighborhood of fine brick homes and mansions. Over the years, it evolved into area dominated by apartments, condos and townhouses, enduring a time during the '70s when it was known largely for being a high-crime area. About 8,000 people now live in the neighborhood.

The area is bounded by Interstate Hwy. 94 to the south, Hennepin and Lyndale avenues to the west, Hawthorne Avenue to the north and 12th Street between it and the core downtown.

Beacon Construction and the architectural firm Meyer Scherer and Rockcastle recently talked to neighborhood representatives about two options for a parking lot at 430 Oak Grove St. -- a slender, 21-story tower with 122 units that would have an 8,000-square-foot footprint; or a comparatively squat six-story building with 75 units and a 19,000-square-foot footprint.

Neighborhood representatives who saw the presentation favored the tower by a slight margin in an informal poll. Units would be priced from $200,000 to $500,000.

Beacon wants to complete the permit process by mid-June and start construction shortly thereafter, according to McLaughlin of the Loring Business Association.

The Episcopal Center at 1730 Clifton is for sale (the diocese is relocating its staff in August) and the building is also expected to be converted into a major residential development.

Two projects already under construction include a four-story, 44-unit residential complex at 301 Clifton Av. and a five-story, 59-condo building at 301 Oak Grove St.

Scott Bader, a principal in Steven Scott Management, which will break ground on a 114-unit condo and townhouse building at the former Red Cross headquarters site at 317 Groveland Av. this summer, said the neighborhood's key selling points include the location just a few minutes from downtown or Uptown, and amenities such as the park, the under-construction Walker Art Center and the sculpture garden. Units will range from $150,000 to $570,000.

Bujold of Maxfield Research said demand should continue to be strong for condos and other units for the foreseeable future, though sales times are likely to lengthen as more housing units become available.

Other projects under development include the renovation of a former Billy Graham ministries building at 1201 Hennepin Av. CVS Pharmacy plans to open one of its first stores in the Twin Cities there by this fall. The development also would include 16 residential units on the second and third floors.

As for the former Billy Graham World Headquarters at 13th and Hennepin, it was recently bought by Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) for $11.2 million. The building will be used for office, classroom and support space.

Educational institutions have helped drive demand for the neighborhood's real estate, whether it's an MCTC expansion or the University of St. Thomas' new 150,000-square-foot law school, which opened last fall.

While there are concerns about congestion related to development, neighborhood representatives say the area is accustomed to high-density housing and that the increased street activity should make the area safer.

Council member Goodman said Loring hasn't gotten the attention of other neighborhoods, but, in some ways, it was only a matter of time before it did.

"Nothing against the river, everyone on the river is great," she said. "But I think there is a real interest in living in an established neighborhood."

[ironchapman]

Has anything else been built since the last person on this thread posted here?