Last building in Grain Belt complex redeveloped

After a quarter-century of effort by city development officials, all buildings in the Grain Belt complex in northeast Minneapolis are now redeveloped and occupied – with new housing next door to boot.

That milestone was celebrated Thursday in the Sheridan neighborhood with an open house at the former Grain Belt office. The 1893 building was renovated by Everwood Development under its successful 2011 development proposal to the city that also built 150 units of new market-rate apartments next door.

"It looks like what you always thought it could be," said longtime Sheridan activist Jenny Fortman as she gazed up at the skylight in the airy 1910 addition to the office building. That skylight was covered by a roof in recent decades but once provided light for the brewery's accountants, according to David Dye, an Everwood principal.

The firm has moved into part of the building's upper floor from Little Canada, while representatives of Steven Scott Management will run the main floor rental office. Residents will get the skylighted area for a community room with wi-fi. They'll also have access to the brewery's former hospitality room in the basement which retains a vintage German beer hall style bar, and adds pool tables.

Everwood's proposal was selected over three competing developers, and it paid the city $1.55 million for the property. That included the office building, bare land for apartments that the city earlier cleared of two single-family houses a duplex and a warehouse, and a site that contains the foundations of the city's first brewery. The office and housing development represent a $29 million project.

Dye said the apartment complex of two four-story buildings is 92 percent leased. One-bedroom units range between $1,300 and $1,500, two-bedroom units from $1,700 to $2,000, and three-bedroom units between $2,100 and $2,500.

The rental emphasis was a marked turnaround from an early 2000 competition for development rights for the Grain Belt complex. The winning developer then proposed 273 units of ownership housing in several phases across the former brewery grounds. But that deal never materialized and a new request for proposals was issued in 2011.

There are site conditions that complicate building more housing at Grain Belt. One is a high-voltage transmission line that bisests the riverfront portion of the complex where higher-buck townhouses have been suggested in the past. A rail line also bisects the complex. Using a parking lot on Marshall for housing likely would require an expensive ramp.

"I don't know if it's practical or not," Dye conceded. Still, he added, "I've looked at a couple of sites and dreamed about them."

Still, the Everwood project completes the rehab of the complex's seven historically significant buildings. The massive former brewhouse was redeveloped by Ryan Companies for RSP Architects. A former bottling house and a warehouse are occupied by artists. Other former buildings in the complex are incorporated into a Hennepin County library.

Brewing in the complex stopped in 1975 and it was bought by businessman Irwin Jacobs. The city bought it from him in 1989 after twice blocking his plans to raze the buildings.

The office building, which housed some workers in the city's development agency for about 10 years, proved the toughest to redevelop. That's partly because it leaked copiously – through the roof, through the basement and even through walls, according to Kevin Carroll, the only one of four city development employees who worked closely on the redevelopment who hasn't retired. The others are Judy Cedar, Jerry LePage and Steve Maki.

One invisible bit of preservation was also accomplished by Everwood. A piece of land fronting NE Marshall St. next door to the office building was protected with a membrane and grassed over. That's because it contains the foundations of the city's first brewery, operated by John Orth, who began brewing in 1850. His brewery was one of four that combined to form Minnesota Brewing and Malting Company, which opened its new brewery in 1892.

One bit of arcana unearthed by Carroll points up the importance of the office building as the nerve center of Grain Belt's operations. It was the place where beer salesmen turned in their receipts and also handled the company's payroll. It was held up in 1941 by gunmen, reputedly Chicago gangsters, who made off with $50,000. One employee, however, calmly remained in the basement hospitality room during the uproar, pouring himself another beer.