Uptown/Lyn Lake : Development News

The $8.5 million Greenleaf apartments, which started construction late last year, will bring a new affordable-housing option to Minneapolis's Whittier neighborhood.

Construction of the 63-unit apartment building, which also includes 7,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space, will probably continue through the end of the year, according to Jesse Osendorf, the project coordinator for Brighton Lyndale Development LLC.  

The building "should blend in nicely with the neighborhood," as it combines plenty of stone and brick, mirroring other nearby developments, while the use of metal adds a sleek, modern touch, he says.

Greenleaf residents will have access to an underground parking garage, while additional off-street spots will be available on Lyndale.

Brighton is still on the lookout for businesses to fill the retail spaces. A restaurant is one possibility, he says, adding that the group wants to attract local independent businesses that can "carve out [their] own niche" in the space.  

Previously, the lot housed part of the Salem English Lutheran Church and accompanying parking, he says.

When the church sold the lot to Brighton and moved to co-habitate elsewhere with another congregation, Salem was able to begin rehabbing the original structure, which had been vacant for several years, he says.  

Based on the number of calls that Brighton is getting from people who are interested in the development, coupled with the success of some of its similar projects like the St. Anthony Mills Apartments near downtown Minneapolis (where there's a waiting list to move in), "these affordable units definitely seem to be in demand," says Osendorf.

Source: Jesse Osendorf, Brighton Development Corporation
Writer: Anna Pratt

A previously proposed condo development near the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis's Uptown neighborhood is being re-imagined as the Track 29 Apartments.

Loren Brueggemann of the Minneapolis-based Phoenix Development Co., which focuses on adaptive reuse projects, is working with the RMF Group to form Bryant Apartments, LLC, on the Track 29 Apartments.

The proposal involves 198 market-rate apartments that will be split between a couple of interconnected four-story and six-story buildings, facing Bryant Avenue South and the Greenway, respectively, he says.

Earlier on the project called for 125 units total, divided between a couple of 27-unit townhomes and a 71-unit loft building, according to the blog, Our Uptown. In the end, only one of the townhome complexes came to be, it states.

In February, the city's planning commission approved a conditional use permit for the developers to switch gears, according to the blog. 

The development will be "high in amenities," according to Brueggemann, who adds that it'll also have a concierge area on the ground floor, a workout facility, common areas, an outdoor zen garden, and a storage area for bikes.  

In addition to the development's bike-friendly features, it'll offer an Hour Car-type rental vehicle service so "people don't necessarily need to own a car to use a car," he says.

The landscaping will incorporate numerous green elements. While the design is still being finalized and the cost is still being worked out, he asserts that "It's going to be elegant."

Next, the developers will be heading to the city's zoning and planning committee and then the City Council. Brueggemann says the goal is to start construction this fall.   


Source: Loren Brueggemann, Phoenix Development Co.
Writer: Anna Pratt

As one part of a larger project to redevelop the old Bennett Lumber site in Minneapolis, the Zeller Realty Group, a Chicago commercial property investment and management company, is pursuing a 223-unit multifamily apartment complex for 5.6 acres between Colfax and Dupont avenues south.

The contemporary-looking building would range from four to six stories between the north and south sides, according to city information.  

It's the first of several separate but related projects for an area between Colfax and Fremont avenues south, near the Midtown Greenway, a recreational trail and historic district. A total of 710 units could eventually be developed.  

Hilary Dvorak, a city planner assigned to the project, says, "The long-term vision is to redevelop all three parcels with high-density multifamily housing," which would be done in phases, though there's no definitive time line at the moment, she says.  

The project is in a 30-day public comment period that runs through April 6, as part of an environmental assessment worksheet, which is required due to the project's large scope. Afterward, the proposal will go to the planning commission and then the City Council. If approved, it'll undergo a land-use approval process. Construction of the first project could begin later this year.  

"The intensity of development proposed is only possible should the properties be rezoned and bonuses added for increased density," according to a prepared statement from the city.  

As to whether the plan fits in with the city's goals, Dvorak says, "We have our comprehensive and small-area plans that speak to the vision for these blocks. The vision that's referenced [in the environmental assessment worksheet] talks about high-density housing."    

Source: Hilary Dvorak, city of Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt
 

A $45 million mixed-use development from the locally based Ackerberg Group will help meet the demand for both parking and office space in Minneapolis' Uptown area.

The 10-story Mozaic development recently broke ground, the company announced in a prepared statement.

Mozaic includes a parking garage that will have 436 parking stalls and 120 surface parking stalls on floors two through seven.

On the top three floors will be 65,000 square feet of "class A" office space, which will help provide more daytime jobs, according to Thatcher Imboden, a company spokesperson.

"We think there's a huge untapped market for office space in Uptown," he says.

The 13,000-square-foot ground level will house restaurant and retail outlets.   

Also part of the development is a public plaza plus a new pedestrian and bike bridge on Girard Avenue that will lead to the Midtown Greenway. "We feel it's a critical connection to Uptown," he says, adding that this aspect of the project was made possible through Hennepin County transit-oriented development dollars.      

Being set back away from the street, the glassy, stepped-back structure will feel more like a mid-rise building, he says, adding that a green wall that will be covered in vines and acrylic panels alongside the parking area "helps soften the building."      

It'll have open floor plans, large floor plates, and "unprecedented views" of downtown, nearby lakes and South Minneapolis.

Funding for the project comes from the Ackerberg Group and MidCountry Bank, and through Recovery Zone Facility Bonds issued by the city, according to company information.

Mozaic will be open by January 2012.

In the future another 100,000 to 150,000 square feet of commercial, residential or mixed-use space could be added. "I think people will be happy with the results," he says.  

     
Source: Thatcher Imboden, Ackerberg Group
Writer: Anna Pratt     





   

As its name suggests, the Flux Apartments complex targets a group of upwardly mobile young professionals whose lives are, well, in a state of flux.

The $38 million apartment complex that Greco Real Estate Development is building at the intersection of Fremont Avenue South and the Midtown Greenway will connect with people who may have been attracted to Minneapolis for a job offer, and who may not know where they'll end up in five years, explains Brent Rogers, a vice-president of development at the company.

The 216-unit complex is the city's largest housing project since Greco's 242-unit Blue apartments, which opened in 2008 in the Lyn-Lake area, according to Rogers.

Blue, he says, is 96 percent occupied, demonstrating a demand for this kind of housing. In the past, "there hasn't been a whole lot of new upscale housing in Uptown," he says.   

Flux will have studio alcoves and two-bedroom penthouses that will be mixed throughout six- and four-story interconnected buildings. 

It'll offer plenty of amenities, including an outdoor pool, courtyard, grilling area, private dog park, fitness center, cafe and bar, so that "when they're not at work [tenants] can enjoy life and have fun," without the worries of home-ownership if they later decide to move on, he says.  

The location offers easy access to the bike and walking paths along the Greenway, and to light rail. 

Another interesting aspect of the project, he says, is that in addition to financing from NorthMarq Capital and PNC Realty Investors, the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust is pitching in--meaning that "union retirement pension funds are putting union workers to work."

Even though it's still a challenging time for development in general, Rogers says, the project speaks to the "belief that the rental market continues to be strong and gets better over the next few years."

The Flux Apartments will open in January 2012.

Source: Brent Rogers, vice president of development at Greco Real Estate Development
Writer: Anna Pratt

The four-mile stretch of Hennepin Avenue from Lakewood Cemetery to the Mississippi River is about to undergo scrutiny of the sort Lake Street and University Avenue have seen from photographer Wing Young Huie.

This time, not Huie but another photographer, who takes inspiration from Huie's huge undertakings, will be tripping her camera's shutter from Uptown to Downtown along a major Twin Cities avenue.

Cate Vermeland teaches photography, communication arts and art history at Concordia University in St. Paul. But it was volunteering as an usher at Huie's "University Avenue Project" outdoor slideshow events this year that put her on the path to a photographic exploration of her own.

Vermeland is an Uptown girl. She grew up there in a pre-chain era when mom-and-pop stores prevailed, and she lived on Hennepin Avenue itself for most of the 1990s. "Its great that it's still a walkable street," she says.

Charting Hennepin's changes is part of the point of her project. Vermeland plans to rephotograph views from the archives of Norton & Peel, a local photography firm in business through the 1960s. She'll match the archival image then take more pictures to provide context to the historical pairing.

Vermeland, speaking to The Line by phone from her darkroom, says her approach differs from Huie's somewhat photojournalistic bent: "I come purely out of an artistic tradition." Her photos will explore how architecture along Hennepin creates community, But the pictures, in black and white, are likely to be unpopulated, giving viewers space to enliven the scenes with their imaginations.  

Vermeland and Huie will hold a public conversation about their projects Thursday, October 21 at 5:30 p.m. at 1433 University Ave., St. Paul (near University and Albert), followed at 6:30 p.m. by another in the series of outdoor slideshows of Huie's "University Avenue Project."

Source: Cate Vermeland, Concordia University
Writer: Chris Steller

After nearly 30 years below ground, Walker Library in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood is getting ready to surface with a new $7 million building.

"A library that is highly visible" is the stated desire of a citizens advisory committee that issued a vision statement for a replacement structure earlier this year.

That will be a big change from the current, almost entirely subterranean library building at Hennepin and Lagoon avenues, where in lieu of a visible library at street level, person-sized steel letters spell out L-I-B-R-A-R-Y.

Envisioned is an above-ground building that announces itself as "Uptown's library, with a strong daytime and nighttime street presence." Designers don't have to look far to find an example of such a structure: the original Walker Library is still standing, just across the street.

Hennepin County's Designer Selection Committee has recommended an architect from among the 21 firms that responded to a request for proposals issued last spring, says Lois Lenroot-Ernt, capital projects manager for Hennepin County Library. The firm's name remains under wraps, however, until county commissioners act on the recommendation, perhaps this month or next.

Designer selection doesn't immediately lead to library construction in every case. A new building in north Minneapolis to replace Webber Park Library is on hold until the county acquires a site.

The county allocated more than $1 million in its 2010 budget to acquire land at a new Uptown site for the Walker library as well, but the RFP is for a $7 million structure to be built on the current site.

Source: Lois Lenroot-Ernt, Hennepin County Library
Writer: Chris Steller

They have overrun suburban strips and main streets in small cities. Now there is a move afoot at Minneapolis City Hall to stop the proliferation of digital signs throughout neighborhood commercial districts.

Electronic sign technology first popped up in Minneapolis in downtown's entertainment district, soon spread to billboards in industrial locations overlooking freeways, and then progressed to smaller signs at neighborhood businesses.

But Minneapolis is getting ready to roll back the last of those three changes to city code, says council member Gary Schiff, who chairs the city council's zoning and planning committee.  

The council approved commercial LED signs in neighborhoods as part of an overhaul of city ordinances last year, but without realizing what so-called "dynamic" signs really were, says Schiff.

"Now we have a year's worth of these signs in place," says Schiff, citing an Uptown hardware store as an example of the new wave he's hoping to stop. If every store in a neighborhood commercial zone were to convert to a digital sign like Frattalone's, he warns, it would be a "drastic change for the character of the neighborhood business districts."

Schiff wants to prevent what he observed recently in Mankato, where "every bank, every church" has a digital sign, creating a "mini-Las Vegas."

The city planning commission will hold a public hearing on removing the provision that has allowed electronic signs outside businesses, varying in size with the amount of street frontage the business has. If approved, the measure would then move to Schiff's committee and the full council over the next few months.

Source: Gary Schiff, Minneapolis City Council
Writer: Chris Steller