A Colorado-based developer is doubling up on projects in the North Loop neighborhood.
Solaris Redevelopment Corp., known for its swank shops and condos at the base of a Vail mountain, is moving forward with plans to build 155 upscale apartments on a parking lot tucked between two historic buildings near the Federal Reserve Bank.
That project is a half-block from where work is already underway on the company's first Minneapolis project, another luxury apartment building with 156 units atop 20,000 square feet of shops that surround a public plaza and courtyard.
"We're trying to create a hub where everyone will feel welcome," said Sharon Cohn, president of Solaris Redevelopment Corp.
Both projects were designed by Snow Kreilich Architects, a 30-person North Loop-based firm noted for its designs for ballparks, sleek international border crossings and one-of-a-kind houses and lofts.
"These projects are in our neighborhood, so designing these buildings means a lot to us," said partner Matt Kreilich.
The firm, recently named National Firm of the Year by the American Institute of Architects, will unveil its plans for the 1st Street project next week at a Heritage Preservation Commission meeting. The plan calls for 155 apartments above 8,000 square feet of commercial space and 240 underground parking spaces. Previous proposals from another developer called for a taller building with a hotel and for-sale condos.
Both six-story buildings are a stark contrast to the highly patterned 19th-century warehouses that dominate the area. Instead of trying to replicate those historic buildings, the new ones will take visual cues when it comes to the massing of the structures, the materials and the scale relative to other buildings in the neighborhood. Both buildings will be simple rectangles clad with dark brick and metal accents.