The Development Tracker follows construction projects around downtown and Northeast Minneapolis
333 Hennepin
333 Hennepin Ave. E.
Mortenson Construction
A crater in the Nicollet Island-East Bank neighborhood is on its way to becoming a 26-story apartment tower. Mortenson celebrated a formal Dec. 15 groundbreaking for the tower, which replaces a former U.S. Bank building at 4th & Hennepin. Once completed toward the end of 2019, the unnamed tower will feature 282 apartments, 5,000 square feet of retail space and 282 parking spaces. Amenities in the 290-foot tower will include a fitness studio, an outdoor amenity deck with a pool and a clubroom. The project joins Lennar’s NordHaus, a 19-story apartment complex built across the street.
City offices
501 4th Ave. S.
City of Minneapolis
The City of Minneapolis is making progress on a new office building for its employees, approving several agreements with contractors. The City Council voted Dec. 8 to approve a contract with Technology Management Corp. for IT and audio visual consulting services and a demolish contract with Carleton Cos. The city is also looking for artists to design a signature artwork and other pieces for the building. A preliminary plan for the project calls for a building of nine to 10 stories that would consolidate several municipal offices. The project team consists of Mortenson Construction (construction manager), MSR (design) and Perkins + Will (pre-design, programming). The city plans to complete design work by late summer of 2018 and begin demolition that season. Construction on the new building would then begin in the fall and be completed by the summer of 2020. City workers are expected to begin working out of the building by that fall.
Elliot Park Hotel
Portland & 9th
Wilkinson Corp.
Crews hoisted the last beam atop a new eight-story hotel in Elliot Park as part of a topping-off ceremony in December. The project, developed by Wilkinson Corp. and constructed by Kraus-Anderson, will bring a 168-room hotel to the corner of 9th & Portland. The hotel, dubbed the Elliot Park Hotel, will join the Marriott Autograph Collection. Coury Hospitality will operate the hotel, along with its restaurant, a farm-to-table Italian restaurant named Tavola. The project is part of a full-block development that has already seen the opening of Kraus-Anderson’s new office building. The Elliot Park Hotel is on schedule to open next September.
Foundry building
117 1st St. N.
Commercial Real Estate
The Heritage Preservation Commission voted to approve a certificate of appropriateness to rehabilitate the Foundry Home Goods and Roe Wolfe buildings in the North Loop. A development group represented by John Gross of Commercial Real Estate is proposing to rehabilitate the two-story brick building last home to Roe Wolfe, though Foundry Home Goods has temporarily moved there, and the Foundry’s three-story brick building, also known as the American House Hotel or Commutator Foundry Co. Building. The group is planning a new six-story residential complex surrounding the buildings, which would then be used for retail and office space.
National Camera Exchange
930 Hennepin Ave.
Roman Gadaskin
Roman Gadaskin said he closed on the sale of the former National Camera Exchange building, also known as the 930 Hennepin building, in downtown Minneapolis earlier this month. The developer is proposing to build commercial space on the ground floor and two market-rate, two-bedroom apartments on the top floor. The ground floor would offer roughly 1,550-square-foot commercial space for an office tenant, but he said it could draw a bar or retail tenant. The 1919 building and a neighboring bar are surrounded by the Orpheum Theatre.
The Armory
500 S. 6th St.
Swervo Development
Music has returned to the Armory as the concert and event venue opened to its first audience since being renovated over the past year. The 1935 building in Elliot Park hosted an electronic dance music show with a lineup featuring Kill the Noise, Tritonal and Seven Lions. The venue is now capable of hosting 8,400 people for concerts. The show served as a soft open ahead of high-profile Super Bowl shows featuring the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Imagine Dragons. Next on the Armory’s schedule is a New Year’s Eve concert with DJ duo Above & Beyond.
Westminster Presbyterian
1200 S. Marquette Ave.
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Westminster Presbyterian Church will open a new expansion on its historic downtown Minneapolis campus on Sunday, Jan. 14. The church has been at work constructing a new two-story wing designed by James Dayton Design. The additional 40,000 square feet features 300 underground parking spaces, new entrances and flexible spaces to meet the church’s changing needs. St. David’s Center will have a new campus and early intervention clinic called the Harman Center for Child & Family Wellbeing in the building. The Westminster Counseling Center will have an office on the second floor.
115 1st
115 N. 1st St.
KMP Investments
KMP Investments is proposing to renovate a three-story brick building that’s currently home to Jetset, a gay bar in the North Loop. The group is planning to rehabilitate the existing building and add a one-story brick garage to the alley. A rooftop patio on top of the building that would be accessible on the second floor would also be added. The proposed use for the building would be a commercial space on the first floor and residential units on floors two and three, according to a city memo submitted to the Heritage Preservation Commission. Residents could use the basement as a lounge space. A spokesman said the project would not affect Jetset.
Amazon signage
323 Washington Ave. N.
Amazon
Amazon plans to have signage on the outside of the T3, a timber office building in the North Loop where the tech giant is opening a tech development center. The company, through its contractor, Minneapolis-based Sign Minds, is proposing to install two wall signs on top of the building’s east and south walls. The signs would be 52 square feet in size and feature the company’s logo, according to plans submitted to the Heritage Preservation Commission. Commissioners voted to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the signage.
Riverwalk Townhomes
50 4th Ave. N.
Goodman Real Estate
Goodman Real Estate has purchased the North Loop’s Riverwalk Townhomes from James Stanton’s estate. The Seattle-based real estate investment company, which specializes in multifamily and commercial properties, paid $19.2 million for 96 apartments and 10,000 square feet of office-condo space. The sale of Riverwalk drew 19 offers, including six from out of state, according to Cushman & Wakefield, which represented Stanton’s estate in the sale. It closed on Dec. 15.
