Fridley-based Thor Construction, one of the biggest black-owned businesses in Minnesota, is pitching plans to build a new headquarters and multitenant structure on the Near North Side of Minneapolis.
The $30 million-plus proposed project, which would be located at the intersection of Plymouth and Penn avenues, would be one of the largest private developments in the area.
In an interview Tuesday, Thor CEO Ravi Norman called the plans tentative because they are subject to approval by neighborhood groups, the city and Hennepin County. Public officials indicated discussions are in the early stages.
"We feel confident that this is the right move for us, as a successful minority-owned company, to put our stakes down in a part of the city that is yearning for private-sector investment and commercial real estate development," said Norman, who runs a company of 150 full-time employees with annual gross revenue of more than $150 million.
"We're putting in place a showcase building for the North Side of Minneapolis, with the idea of opening other businesspeople's eyes and minds to the North Side as a viable place to invest," said Richard Copeland, Thor's founder and owner, said in a prepared statement.
Copeland, who lived as a child near the proposed development site, founded Thor 36 years ago.
Norman said the project would be privately financed, though it is talking to Hennepin County about incentives.
Thor also may build a parking ramp on a lot adjacent to its proposed headquarters that would serve Hennepin County through the planned expansion of the NorthPoint Health clinic, the nonprofit facility at 1313 Penn Av. N. that is the largest health provider in north Minneapolis.
