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Ground lease talks advance makeover of 38th Street Blue Line stop

For the Minnesota Star Tribune

July 13, 2017 at 11:01PM

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Address: 3752 Hiawatha Av., Minneapolis

Type: Mixed-use

Residential units: 164

Retail/office space: 32,208 square feet

Developer: Lander Group

Architect: LHB Architects

Details: The Metropolitan Council agreed to negotiate a ground lease with the Lander Group to redevelop the 38th Street Blue Line light-rail station.

Lander has purchased six single-family homes adjacent to the station, which would be razed to allow for an expansion of the site to accommodate a five-story building containing 133 apartment units, 15,000 square feet of retail and an underground parking ramp. It would be built on what is now the station's bus turnaround, which would be reconfigured to loop around the new building.

Two other new mixed-use structures are part of the 38th Street Station proposal: A two-story building with 10,000 square feet of retail and office space, and a third building south of 38th Street containing 31 apartments and about 2,500 square feet of commercial space.

The ground lease is key to moving forward. The Met Council is offering a 99-year deal with the first-year rent set at $62,000, adjusted for inflation in the future with a new land appraisal every decade.

The lease would begin next spring, or whenever Lander Group begins construction. The council would have approval power over the construction plans and the Federal Transit Administration, which has a financial interest in the property, also must sign off.