New tenants, uses sought for Nate's Clothing building

The Twin Cities office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker has been hired to handle retail and office leasing of the Manufacturers Building at 401 1st Av. N. in Minneapolis.

The 98-year-old building, best known as the home of Nate's Clothing, is due to change hands in May when it is sold to Circle Pines-based Uppal Enterprises. Nate's owners are selling the building after operating there for about 22 years. They plan to look for a new store site in the suburbs.

In addition to handling leasing for Uppal, Colliers also is representing Nate's owners in the sale of the 52,175-square-foot building. Neither Colliers nor Uppal would disclose the purchase price of the property, which was listed last year with an asking price of $4.5 million.

Vik Uppal, president of Uppal Enterprises, said his firm is formulating its plans for redeveloping the property, but hopes to put a restaurant or nightlife establishment on the ground level. He declined to say what is planned for four upper floors that now have small-office tenants.

Rents moving up

Twin Cities-area apartment owners should see improved revenue in the coming year despite a slight increase in vacancy rates, according to a recent report by Marcus & Millichap, a California-based real estate investment brokerage firm.

The report said the area's overall vacancy rate still will be below 5 percent, which should allow landlords to boost rents and scale back concessions.

The slump in home buying also is providing an opportunity for owners of rental housing, Marcus & Millichap said. "Demand for condo units has dissipated in Minneapolis, and many residents are turning to premium apartments as an alternative," the report said.

Job increases in the metro area are also expected to increase apartment demand.

Area builders are stepping in to take advantage of the demand for rental units and are expected to complete 1,200 apartments in 2008, more than twice the number as the previous year, Marcus & Millichap said. Apartment building construction nationwide is expected to increase slightly this year to just over 100,000 new units, the report said.

The report also noted that investors are showing greater interest in local rental properties. Buyer demand is expected to increase for apartment buildings along the route of the Northstar Corridor rail line that will eventually connect Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis, the report said.

Susan Feyder • 612-673-1723