Stay in the Loop

Developer Curt Gunsbury has his eyes on another parcel in the North Loop, this time across the street from his Soltvå apartment building.

Gunsbury’s Solhem Companies is proposing to build a seven-story apartment building with 124 apartments along 8th Avenue North between 1st and 2nd streets, according to submitted plans. The wood-frame and concrete building at 721 1st St. N. would have a roughly 5,000-square-foot, privately maintained public park on its southeastern side.

The proposed building, which would replace a parking lot, would have a mixture of market-rate one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, along with micro-units similar to other Solhem properties. The project features one and a half stories of above ground parking and one story of underground parking for a total of 224 spaces. The proposed park, which could be built in lieu of paying a park dedication fee, is located above Bassett Creek.

The proposal is slated to go before the City Planning Commission’s Committee of the Whole Jan. 28. Because the site is within the St. Anthony Falls Historic District, it will also need Heritage Preservation Commission approval.

The developer expects to break ground this July and complete construction in the summer of 2017.