Horst Rechelbacher's riverfront condo sets record list price: $8M

A 12,000-square-foot Minneapolis condo that belonged to the late Horst Rechelbacher is on the market for $8 million — a record list price for a Minnesota condominium.

"It's a terribly unique opportunity," said the co-listing agent, Chad Larsen of the Barry Berg Group at Coldwell Banker Burnet. "It's certainly dramatic, but it has a scale that belies its size."

The largest in the state, the sleek, two-story condo is in the Phoenix on the River building, which was developed by Schafer Richardson in 2007 along the banks of the Mississippi. The unit has sweeping views of St. Anthony Falls and the Minneapolis skyline, plus a long list of amenities, including a private elevator, eight parking spaces and two master suites, including one that faces east and another that faces west.

The property was one of several homes, including a farm in Osceola, Wis., and a New York City penthouse, that belonged to the Aveda Corp. founder, who died earlier this year of pancreatic cancer.

Horst commissioned U + B Architecture and Design in Minneapolis to give the space a multimillion-dollar makeover, including a pair of chandeliers that wouldn't fit in the elevator and had to be craned into the building. That firm designed interiors of several Twin Cities apartment buildings, including Soltva and 7 West, as well as the flagship concept store for Horst's Intelligent Nutrients.

Horst paid $6,995,000 for 18,000 square feet — the entire top two floors of the building — in 2011 and celebrated his 70th birthday in the unfinished space with champagne and snacks served on stacks of drywall. If the property sells for anywhere near the asking price, it would become the most expensive condo sale ever in Minnesota, but a bargain compared with units in New York City, where several records have been shattered.

While the Horst property comes with a record list price, at about $700 per square foot, it falls short of a pair of listings from Cynthia Froid of Keller Williams.

With condo listings in short supply downtown, prices are on the rise. The average sale price per square foot for a downtown condo last month was about $300 per square foot, a 24 percent increase from last year, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

By the end of June there were only 154 condos on the market downtown, an 11 percent decline from last year and far fewer than the 600-plus units that were on the market before the housing collapse and the Great Recession.

Despite the shortage of listings, finding a buyer for the Rechelbacher listing could take time.

After a showing at the property Monday, Fritz Kroll, a sales agent with Edina Realty who originally marketed the building for the developer, said that while there's no shortage of well-heeled people in the hunt for such upper-bracket properties, many in that price range are instead seeking ­single-family houses.

"It is spectacular," Kroll said of the Rechelbacher unit. "This would be a great place for someone who likes to entertain — wide-open spaces and amazing views. And if someone is [relocating to the Twin Cities] from a high-priced market, they could see this as a great value."