Developers started construction last week on a 201-unit apartment project in Shoreview, the latest piece of a redevelopment of what had been primarily a corporate campus.
Once the new project is complete, Eagle Ridge Partners and Greco Properties, both based in Minneapolis, will have developed more than 600 multifamily units on the site.
"It's got a lot more activity than it had previously," said Kristin Myhre, president and principal of Eagle Ridge, on the new look of the site.
Large, suburban corporate campuses are becoming something of an endangered species since the pandemic and hybrid-work models have significantly reduced the demand for office space.
In Plymouth, a former Prudential campus covering about 75 acres is now becoming a $300 million mixed-use redevelopment with multifamily housing, retail and a med-tech business campus. Prudential announced last year plans to move to the Dayton's Project in downtown Minneapolis.
"It really feels to me that we're going through a transformation on the future of corporate campus sites. Much of that space will not be future office space," said Mike Gelfman, executive vice president with the local office of Toronto-based Colliers, a commercial real estate services firm.
Eagle Ridge transformed its plan after it ran into challenges leasing some of the office space.
Eagle Ridge originally bought the property out of receivership in 2015. At the time, there were five office buildings on the site, two of which Land O'Lakes occupied. Previously, it housed one of two Deluxe Corp. campuses. The company relocated its headquarters to downtown Minneapolis in 2021.
"There were no high-end, luxury apartments that were being offered in the suburban areas. Most of this product type was either in Uptown or downtown," Myhre said.
Eagle Ridge has a portfolio of commercial properties and owns nearly 2.5 million square feet of space. However, it had no multifamily properties in its portfolio and had never previously developed any new buildings. It formed a joint venture with Greco for the apartment projects.
"It's a new product type for us which is why we reached out to Greco. That's their expertise," Myhre said.
Greco established its reputation converting vintage buildings into condominiums in Minneapolis' North Loop.
The development team completed the 206-unit Loden SV apartments in 2018 and finished the 200-unit Emrik SV in 2021. The buildings filled up quickly and are fully leased.
The new building is scheduled to start leasing units in the fourth quarter of 2024.
"We were delighted to create this partnership with them to transform and upgrade this campus," said Tom Simonson, community development director for the city of Shoreview.
There are still three office buildings on the Shoreview site, one of which Eagle Ridge sold. Eagle Ridge owns 220,000 square feet of office space on the 39-acre property.
In December, Eagle Ridge and another investor acquired the Colonnade, a 15-story office building in Golden Valley, for $79 million.
In September, Greco and Eagle Ridge announced they had secured $69 million in financing for Golden Triangle Station, a 237-unit apartment project in Eden Prairie. Construction on that project started Oct. 11.
