United Properties is proposing to pay the City of Minneapolis $10.4 million for the Nicollet Hotel Block, according to city documents.
The sale price, previously not disclosed, was a key reason city officials cited for selecting the Bloomington-based developer over the three other bids last month. The Community Development and Regulatory Services Committee of the City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to award United exclusive negotiating rights, the final step before full council takes up the deal.
The block, bounded by S. 3rd Street, Washington and Hennepin avenues and Nicollet Mall, was the subject of an unusually high-profile competition this winter. Named for the stately hotel that stood on the site until 1991, the Nicollet Hotel Block is situated next to the César Pelli-designed Minneapolis Central Library at the north end of the soon-to-be revamped Nicollet Mall, bridging the central business district to the burgeoning North Loop neighborhood.
United plans to build a mixed-use project composed of a 36-story tower for residential and hotel rooms and a four-story building for retail, restaurant and other commercial uses. The public park space will take up about half of the parcel.
City staff said it chose United over M.A. Mortenson, Duval Development and Doran Cos., all Twin Cities-based firms, because it "best met the city's development goals for the property". Design is subjective to opinion and so the city focused on pragmatics, such as dollar figures. For that, the city said its decision was based on two factors: the sale price and development costs that will put more money in the city's pocket.
In a press release last month announcing its developer selection, the City of Minneapolis said United Properties proposal offered "the highest total development cost, which will result in the largest tax base increase for the City." This is true, except for Duval, which officials disqualified two weeks prior, citing incomplete details about Duval's financing for the project. United's plan is projected to cost $161 million to develop.
Below is a previously released analysis of the four proposals.