St. Paul-based
Everwood Development plans to bring workforce housing to a longtime office and classroom building at 7th and Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, a move it believes will help re-energize the area.
Forty-five studio and two-bedroom apartments will go into the eight-story building, while the
International Education Center for international adults, the current tenant, will stay on the first three floors.
Over
the last several years the old-fashioned building has been 70 percent
vacant, according to Elizabeth Flannery, a project partner at Everwood.
Workforce
housing "would actually help that whole area," she says. "We think we
need more of it in downtown Minneapolis. We think it's important to
increase residential density," with housing opportunities at all levels.
In some ways, the redevelopment will pay homage to its early days.
The $9.5 million City Place Lofts takes its name from the
engraved words "City Place," which can be seen above the original entrance
of the 1921 building, Flannery says.
The building, which
formerly housed the Lincoln National Bank and has long been used for
office space and classrooms, was referred to in a book dating back to the
early twentieth century as the "Gateway to the Land of Plenty, " according to
company information.
Everwood will pursue historic status for
the building, she says, adding that the company hopes to leverage state
and federal historic tax credits.
Part of the plan is to bring
back its original entrance on Hennepin for the lofts. "It adds to the
historical integrity of a property," she says.
"It's a
beautiful building," she says, adding that it ripe for conversion,
with many built-in amenities including nine-foot ceilings and a terrazzo
floor that has been hidden under layers of tile and carpet.
Its
550-square-foot to 800-square-foot studio and two-bedroom apartments,
which will be offered at 30 to 40 percent of average rent, will cater to
those who work downtown and want to live in the area, she
says. "It'll be a high-quality product," she says. "We want it to be a
place where people want to live."
Flannery says the company hopes to start construction after it closes on the building early this summer.
Source: Elizabeth Flannery, Everwood Development project partner
Writer: Anna Pratt