Hormel Foods CEO buys downtown Minneapolis condo for $2.95 million

Hormel Foods Corp. CEO James Snee and his wife, Tammy, just paid $2.95 million for a downtown Minneapolis condo in the new RBC Gateway tower, home of the Four Seasons Hotel, at the north end of Nicollet Mall.

An electronic record of the sale on file with the Minnesota Department of Revenue indicates the Snees bought the condo on Nov. 1 with a down payment of $950,000. Details show that the condo will not be used as a primary residence. Snee lives in Austin, Minn., where Hormel is based.

The mixed-use RBC Gateway tower, developed by Minneapolis-based United Properties, combines office space, hotel and residential. The Four Seasons Private Residences include 34 condo units on the top six floors of the 37-story building.

Scott Peterson, vice president of hospitality and office development for United Properties, declined to say how many condo units have been sold, but said demand has been strong.

"We do have a few units remaining. Availability is pretty limited," said Peterson. "All of our larger units, our three-bedroom units, have been sold out for several months. They were the first to get sold."

The Four Seasons opened this summer and the condominiums were completed in October.

The Snee condo is far from the most expensive in the building. Another unit in the building sold for $4 million on Nov. 7. Other recent sales include units for $3.45 million and $3 million.

Peterson said the exclusivity of the condos is a key selling point. Condo residents have access to hotel amenities, such as the spa, fitness center and housekeeping services. The hotel includes three restaurants.

"We started closing units and moving people in, in the last 15 days," Peterson said.

Four Seasons uses the Private Residences concept globally, including 30 destinations in North America.

With a 24-hour lobby and hotel features, the environment is comparable to "a city inside of a building," said Peterson.

"You can get a cheeseburger and a martini at 2 a.m. delivered to your condo just because you're under the Four Seasons Private Residence brand," said Peterson.