A $70 million development with a 10-story apartment building and restaurant is quickly coming together in Minneapolis' North Loop.
The project is an unusual joint venture between two well-known Minneapolis developers, United Properties and Greco.
They will combine three parcels including two adjacent surface parking lots between the Freehouse and Bunker's Music Bar & Grill that face Washington Avenue N. The third parcel is a surface parking lot on the opposite side of the blocks facing N. 3rd Street.
"I think we create a much grander project and a much better opportunity for the city and the neighborhood if we do it together," said Arnie Gregory, Greco's founder and owner.
Minneapolis-based Greco LLC currently owns the parking lot at 729 Washington Av. N. next to the Freehouse. Bloomington-based United will close on the lot at 753 Washington Av. next to Bunker's next month. That lot is currently owned by Holden Properties and is valued at $1.04 million, according to Hennepin County property tax records. A third parcel is already co-owned by the two developers.
"We look forward to the potential redevelopment of these lots," Bill Katter, executive vice president of United, said in a statement.
The plan includes a 10-story brick and post-tension concrete apartment building with large, warehouse-style windows and recessed balconies. Several of the 150 units would be large enough for a family, an option that's tough to find in the area.
The building would have three floors of parking and a 8,000 square-foot, ground floor restaurant. That restaurant will have a 2,000-square-foot patio overlooking a grassy park connecting Washington Avenue to 3rd Avenue. Gregory said that a restaurateur has already stepped forward to occupy the space, but declined to name it.
