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  #81  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 6:33 PM
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It's been announced that the planned 16-story apartment tower in the North Loop (and part of the Dock Street Flats project by Hines Development) will be increased in height to 25 stories with 291 units and 15,700 sq. ft. of commercial space. It will be the first downtown high-rise to jump the I-394 chasm and should be pretty prominent.

No renderings yet.
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  #82  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 6:43 PM
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The renovated Soo Line building is nearing completion. The former office building, built in 1915, is now a luxury apartment complex with 254 units and rooftop pool and sundeck. The first residents are moving in.

Public domain pic (A few years old - the podium's large window arches have been restored.)



Wikipedia - Soo Line Building
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  #83  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 6:48 PM
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Love the old "Soo Line" building! All apartments?
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  #84  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 7:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TallBob View Post
Love the old "Soo Line" building! All apartments?
Yes, all apartments except for the first floor restaurant Brasserie Zentral and the skyway level Cafe Zentral.

Here's a pic from the Minnesota Historical Society of the building shortly after it was built. As I mentioned the podium is also being restored to its original look. The building is also kitty-corner from the under-construction Nic on Fifth apartment tower, the proposed 4Marq Apartment tower, and the Nicollet Mall LRT station.

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  #85  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 9:05 PM
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Phase III of Mozaic in booming Uptown Minneapolis is in the final planning stage. The building, like its predecessor, will be primarily office with retail on the main floor. The building fronts the existing Midtown Greenway, a dedicated "bicycle highway" running east-west through south Minneapolis.

It's a great project IMO, and interacts really well with the surrounding neighborhood.

Photos from the City of Minneapolis report:






The project is also directly adjacent to the existing Bar Abilene building:



Site Plan:

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Last edited by Avian001; Oct 18, 2013 at 9:19 PM.
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  #86  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 9:27 PM
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Minneapolis had a lot of great historical buildings that, if I remember right were torn down in the 60's-70's.... Such a shame! I'm 61 and remember the Marquette and the Curtis Hotels, watching Harmon & Mickey slugging it out at Metropolitan Stadium! That's going back a ways!.... Anything tall in the pipeline besides a few loose rumors?
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  #87  
Old Posted Oct 19, 2013, 3:05 AM
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I was saddened to see the Antler Hotel (may have the name wrong) which sat across the Gay 90's demolished, on Hennepin Avenue. I went to the pre-demolition sale of the furniture inside, and a bought a very unique chair.

As for the Soo Line building, it looks like the windows are all stationary, and I could never live in a building where I couldn't even open up a window. I'd get claustrophobic living there, as I won't even stay in a hotel where I can't even open up a window. And no balconies either! How on earth can you call that luxury!!!

Nice to see some growth in the Uptown area!
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  #88  
Old Posted Oct 19, 2013, 7:54 PM
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^ The 1st photo I posted is a few years old when the Soo Line was still an office building. The new windows are all double-hungs:


Photo by Nick at UrbansMsp

But yes, there are no balconies.
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  #89  
Old Posted Oct 20, 2013, 5:10 AM
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Very nice building! Too bad about the windows & no balconies though.... I think if they were marketed as condos it might be different!
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  #90  
Old Posted Oct 23, 2013, 5:19 AM
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So there are double hung windows! First picture showed stationery windows!
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  #91  
Old Posted Oct 26, 2013, 6:20 AM
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I was trolling over at SSP and there's quite an interview from a retired banker in Minneapolis. The conversation was about potential development downtown over the next 15-20 years..... Very optimistic goals, but still pretty much rumors. But hey it sounded good! It'd be nice if Minny could attract some of the suburban office users back downtown.
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  #92  
Old Posted Oct 26, 2013, 8:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TallBob View Post
I was trolling over at SSP and there's quite an interview from a retired banker in Minneapolis. The conversation was about potential development downtown over the next 15-20 years..... Very optimistic goals, but still pretty much rumors. But hey it sounded good! It'd be nice if Minny could attract some of the suburban office users back downtown.
Yes! Here is the conversation:


I'd like to re-post an exchange on UrbanMSP that forum member Min-Chi-Cbus posted. A member asked some questions of RetiredBanker, a man with whom I have done some work with in the past.

Make of it what you will, but I can assure you that RetiredBanker is a legitimate and reliable source of information with decades of experience in the Minneapolis commercial real estate community. His company "head-hunts" tenants for office and retail projects. As a result he is privy to a lot of information that most people are unaware of.

His comments make for some interesting reading. Keep in mind that he is speaking about some long-term projects...

"-What kind of timeline can we reasonably expect to START to hear public info about these currently private projects?

I'm acquainted with about 30 downtown high-rise projects, all in different stages of development. One particular development I was hoping that could possibly be announced, yet, this year. That is difficult to say because of multiple developers wanting the same site for the same purpose, all having a 'significant' structure designed. That particular project would be the catalyst for about 10 other projects alone, which would appreciatively enhance multiple areas of weakness downtown, especially the retail component. Which is vital for the success of downtown in the years ahead.

-How much space would the average supertall in question require (1.0M SF? 2.0M SF?), and how much of it would need to be pre-leased?

Concerning the square footage of the 'significant' projects vary greatly. Keep in mind that all these new towers have incredibly beautiful and ornate crowns/spires that will make each tower a signature building. It's no secret that both Hines and Target do intend to exceed the 1000 ft. barrier on their sites. There are 3 other towers with conceptual designs exceeding 1000 ft. as well. Now, the final designs might very well be reduced, however, all the developers know the significance of having a signature building, helping it appeal and lure better tenants to their projects.

On the amount of space that needs to be pre-leased also varies, due to the fact that they'll all (the 3 other significant towers) be self-financed, which provides greater flexibility to the developer on structuring the lease and their rates, both office and retail space. Developers and financiers need to look far more ahead than just a few years, the development must be able to enhance the value to the neighboring buildings to keep the lease rates high enough to have the project cash flow and be viable for any potential buyer in the years ahead.


-What is the biggest threat these types of projects face in the current environment (micro or macro)?

I believe what is solely needed is patience and when the market conditions are such, each project will move ahead. Certainly, the city needs to be far more flexible in the building requirements (FAR rates) in some locations concerning even the mid-rises which are plenty. Perhaps, what the developers would like to see is more positive movement towards patronizing retail downtown, which has been hurt since the opening of the Mall of America. People can't simply talk about wanting a particular retail store downtown for their convenience and not shop there. Online shopping is probably the biggest obstacle hindering expansion of retail downtown (and elsewhere).


-In your personal opinion, do any of the proposals that you have seen meet or exceed the asthetic benchmark beset by any of the current buildings in the city (i.e. will they be iconic)


Every conceptual design that I've seen of the about 30 or so projects are all quite appealing, developers have been very cognizant of design and being street/pedestrian-friendly. That has definitely slowed progress on projects, since there are numerous obstacles to overcome, such as full-block parking ramps that create dead zones. However, by developers working together on projects to coordinate their developments to help each projects success, hopefully will be enough to make the final result/investment work.


Just wondering, without disclosing confidential information, are these "major investors" also concerned about aesthetics/iconic architecture when they keep saying "taller"?


I believe that I tried to answer in the previous question.


And do you have a gut feeling from your experiences as to when one of these "supertalls" or even "taller-than-what-we-haves" might come to fruition/announcement?


I believe that I tried to answer that in a previous question, as well.


Every weakness of downtown in this enormous comprehensive plan (for the entire downtown area, DE, the Core, North Loop, Loring & Elliot Park, the riverfront and what is remaining) has been acknowledged and attempted to be solved. I've never been more confident of downtown Minneapolis development success in my lifetime like the present. Many cities are dying or stagnant, some are going through and always in a transition mode, however, Minneapolis will move from transition mode to entire transformation over the next 15-20 years. Developers, financiers and the business community from throughout the world looks at Minneapolis much differently than they do other cities of comparable size and even larger. Minneapolis is unique and they all know it and will invest accordingly.

Hopefully, this response addresses your questions. Stay positive, Minneapolis has its best days ahead of it."
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In a related note, the International Business Times has an interesting video about the good business climate of the Twin Cities. They call it the "US Economic Icon."

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/interviews-...omic-icon.html



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  #93  
Old Posted Oct 27, 2013, 6:05 AM
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Avian001: Thanks for posting this info over here!!
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  #94  
Old Posted Nov 1, 2013, 12:10 AM
MplsTodd MplsTodd is offline
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Avian, thanks for posting that video. Lots of excellent aerial footage!

And, of course, Thanks for the updated development details too!
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  #95  
Old Posted Nov 8, 2013, 7:43 AM
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Saw some news/gosip about about a couple of potential 600+ footer mixed-use projects over on sscity!
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  #96  
Old Posted Nov 14, 2013, 7:35 AM
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I saw some interior photos inside the renovated Soo Line building...... Fantastic! What a great building!
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  #97  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2013, 6:23 PM
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Groundbreaking for the new Vikings stadium is set for tomorrow, although technically they started tearing up the east parking lot today.
The new stadium will be ready for the 2016 NFL season... boy that seems like a long ways away.
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  #98  
Old Posted Dec 3, 2013, 7:42 AM
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I'm wondering with all the "back & fourth" between Ryan Co's & the City (Silly Hall), is it going to affect this project? Not really liking the 18- story twins anyway.... think it could be much better.
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  #99  
Old Posted Dec 3, 2013, 8:13 AM
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I'll be back their over the holidays. I think it'll be cool watching the Metrodome come down!! I'm sure there will be a few tears shed over that place. A couple of World Series titles... some pretty good Vikings games...ect.!
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  #100  
Old Posted Dec 3, 2013, 7:22 PM
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^ Yes. Although certainly not beloved for its design it had its place in stadium history: The only stadium to host the Super Bowl, World Series, NCAA Final Four and the MLB All-Star Game. And it was one of the only stadiums to be very profitable for most of its history.

Block E in downtown Minneapolis will be getting a dramatic facelift. Most of the building will be gutted and the Disney-esque facade will finally (!!!) be gone. The 15-screen movie theater area will become the practice facility for the Timberwolves & WNBA champs Lynx. The 1st & 2nd floors will be retail & entertainment venues. The complex was built in 2001. The 22-story luxury hotel will be left unchanged and Kieran's Irish Pub will remain as well. The name "Block E" will be gone but no word on what the new name will be.

Block E image by RSP Architects


Current Facade



From the confidential files: In the planning stages right now for downtown Minneapolis: 35-story, 38-story and 50-story residential towers, 43-story and 56-story mixed-use towers, 250,000 SF skinny office building and a 43-story "very-high-end" hotel in a surprising location with a major retailer. These are 2-5 years out right now. We may see an official announcement in a couple of months for one of them. And, although it sounds really crazy, there are conceptual designs for no less than 5 supertalls. I seriously doubt the office market can absorb that much space in a short time but these are 5-8 years out right now so we won't be seeing any announcements anytime soon. However planning has begun and the sites are available for 4 of them. If we see a major parking lot downtown change hands soon then the groundwork will be set for the 5th.
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Last edited by Avian001; Dec 3, 2013 at 8:21 PM.
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