The flow of new multifamily housing projects in the Twin Cities-metro area during 2017 came to a roar in December, which saw 10 projects unveiled by developers or moved forward by regulators.
In all, the new proposals — some of which are only in the concept stage — totaled 1,871 units, emphasizing the continuing appetite for senior, market-rate and affordable apartments. Here is a rundown of the projects:
Friendship Village, Bloomington. Iowa-based Lifespace Communities and developer Greystone Communities of Irving, Texas, returned to Bloomington city officials in December with updated plans to redevelop portions of Friendship Village Senior Living Community. They want to add a three-story healthcare center building with 74 assisted living and memory care units and a residential building with 98 independent living units.
Urbana Place, Brooklyn Park. St. Cloud-based Trident Development sought approvals for Urbana Court Apartments, a 207-unit market-rate apartment building, and Urbana Place Senior Living Center, a 103-unit senior assisted-living building on the "Astra Village" site along Hwy. 610.
Southview of Eden Prairie, Eden Prairie. Southview Senior Communities proposed a 116-unit senior living residence at Prairie Center Drive and Franlo Road. The 2.6-acre property near Eden Prairie Center would include a five-story senior housing building boasting a range of independent living, assisted living and memory care units.
Pentagon Park North, Edina. Chase Real Estate, working with property owner Hillcrest Development, unveiled sketch plans to convert a 10-acre portion of the 27-acre Pentagon Park North redevelopment site into market-rate apartments and senior housing. The proposal calls for a pair of five-story residential structures: a 325-unit market-rate building, and a 225-unit senior building.
Timber Ridge Apartments, Forest Lake. Stillwater-based Summit Management sought approvals for Timber Ridge Apartments, a 73-unit building to be constructed in Forest Lake's Gateway Green planned unit development area. The bank-owned, 5-acre site was once proposed for senior housing before the 2008-2009 recession. The proposed mix includes 39 one-bedroom and 34 two-bedroom units.
600 5th Avenue, Minneapolis. The city's planning commission last month issued site-plan and conditional-use approvals for the mixed-use project in which a surface parking lot adjacent to Thrivent Financial's downtown Minneapolis headquarters will be redeveloped. A new building will contain a 750-space parking ramp, 107 residential units and 1,608 square feet of retail space at the skyway level.
1717 Central Avenue Apartments, Minneapolis. Kaas Wilson Architects, acting on behalf of an unnamed developer, floated concept plans for a mixed-use building with 78 market-rate residential units in northeast Minneapolis. The site at 1717 Central Avenue NE. now holds a former Burger King restaurant that was converted into a day care. That structure would be demolished under the plans, with the day care relocating to the first floor of the new building.
Bunge Riverton/Maya Commons, Minneapolis. Nonprofits Project for Pride in Living and Riverton Community Housing partnered on a concept plan to complete the redevelopment of the former Bunge grain elevator site in southeast Minneapolis. The project would provide 95 units of affordable student housing in Riverton's section, while PPL would build 50 units of affordable "workforce" housing.
North Loop apartments, Minneapolis. The Opus Group last month introduced a concept plan for a 225-unit, market-rate apartment building located close to the Star Tribune's printing plant in the North Loop/West River Parkway area. The E-shaped building would be six stories with 270 enclosed parking stalls, including a unit mix ranging from studios to two-bedrooms.
Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church Senior Housing, St. Paul. Church officials teamed with Mesaba Capital Partners and Premier Housing Management to propose a redevelopment of the church along Selby Avenue in St. Paul. The project would raze the current building and build a new, 6,660-square-foot church as part of a 95-unit, four-story senior housing project.
Don Jacobson is a freelance writer based in St. Paul. He is the former editor of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Real Estate Journal.
