Golden Valley is joining the metro-area apartment boom.
A Dallas-based developer said it plans to build more than 160 luxury apartments in Golden Valley, a small suburb along the northwest edge of Minneapolis. That's in addition to plans for another 600 or so units in Golden Valley.
"This is a boom," said Mark Grimes, Golden Valley's community development director. "Up to 1,000 new people will come to live in Golden Valley if all of this comes true."
Trammell Crow Co. said Monday that it has all the necessary approvals it needs to start building Arcata, a 260,000 square-foot building that will include studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The project is being built on a 2-acre site next to the Colonnade office tower that already is owned by the company and once was slated to become a hotel.
"Arcata provides an opportunity for residents to live in a centrally located, accessible, amenity-driven and employment-rich suburb," said Grady Hamilton, head of Trammell Crow's Midwest business unit.
The city already has approved plans for two large apartment buildings. Tiburon will have 142 units on two parcels along Olson Hwy. A project known as "The 3.9.4" will have 110 units aimed at senior renters, and a market-rate building with 310 units near the northwest corner of Interstate 394 and Hwy. 100.
The projects are significant for a community of 24,000 that has been fully developed for decades, but has seen a dearth of new construction in recent years. Grimes said more rental housing will provide much-needed options for longtime residents who want to sell their single-family homes and move into maintenance-free housing.
"We say that we like to have a variety of housing types and this is helping us reach that goal," said Grimes. "We're also trying to bring younger folks into the city."
All three projects are on redevelopment sites in high-density commercial areas that put commuters within 10 to 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis.
Mary Bujold, president of Maxfield Research, said there's another key driver for these Golden Valley projects: Proximity to the Shops at West End in St. Louis Park, an adjacent first-ring suburb. West End is a massive retail and commercial development that was conceived as a new urban-style downtown for a city that lacked its own.
St. Louis Park, however, is not without its own apartment boom. Several hundred apartment units are under construction in Hoigaard Village, and the Flats at West End is about to open.
Throughout the metro more than 10,000 units have been proposed, and while most of those units are in Minneapolis, a growing number are in inner-ring suburbs that offer easy access to downtown.
Jim Buchta • 612-673-7376
