Stay in the Loop

T3
323 Washington Ave. N.
Hines

Houston-based Hines recently opened T3, a seven-story office development that was designed to be the country’s first modern tall wood building. Located in the North Loop across from the Dock Street Flats community that Hines also built, the building is currently only home to a barre fitness studio from San Francisco-based company The Bar Method. Brent Robertson, a managing director with JLL, said they expect T3, whose name stands for timber, transit and technology, to be 70 percent leased by the end of the year, with most of the interest coming from tech and creative firms. A restaurant tenant that has leased a 4,500-square-foot space in the 224,000-square-foot building will soon be announced, he added.

419 Washington
419 Washington Ave. N.
CPM Cos., Swervo Development

CPM Cos. and Swervo Development are back with updated plans for a 10-level office building in the North Loop. Previous plans for the project, which would have a restaurant space on the ground floor and a skyway connection to the adjacent four-story Internet Exchange building, were appealed earlier this fall. The two Minneapolis-based developers are proposing a building with shorter rooftop structures, reducing the height to 13 stories, or 140 feet, down from a previous 15-story proposal. The building, proposed for a surface parking lot near 3rd & 5th, would have several levels of above-ground parking for a total of 480 parking spaces.

Lowry & Morrison Block
200-204 Washington Ave. N.
John Rimarcik

Restaurateur John Rimarcik is proposing to rehabilitate a dilapidated building in the North Loop for new office tenants and a restaurant or retail tenant. Rimarcik, who owns and operates the Monte Carlo just a couple blocks away, as well as the now-closed Rachel’s across the river, is the longtime owner of the Lowry and Morrison block, a three-story building at Washington & 2nd. For the past 12 years the 1879 building has been used for warehousing, according to the plans submitted to the Heritage Preservation Commission. If plans are approved, construction on the nearly 22,000-square-foot building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017. Adsit Architecture and Planning is handling the rehabilitation design work.

729 Washington

729 Washington Ave. N.

United Properties

Bloomington-based United Properties has submitted new plans for a proposed 10-story mixed-use development planned for a surface parking lot in the North Loop. The latest plans, submitted to the Heritage Preservation Commission for its Dec. 13 meeting, include a 10-story office building fronting Washington Avenue and a residential building and parking garage facing 3rd Street North. The brick-clad office project includes about 15,000 square feet of retail space. The proposal includes about 400 parking spaces with a level of below-grade parking and the six-story parking garage. There would also be a plaza with outdoor restaurant seating located across from the Freehouse in the adjacent Loose Wiles building.

Abiitan Mill City

428 S. 2nd St.

Ecumen

The Mill District’s latest residential community, Abiitan Mill City, opened to its first residents on Dec. 15, according to a spokesman with Minnesota-based developer Ecumen. As of Dec. 1, 37 of the senior housing building’s 86 independent-living units have been reserved. Abiitan Mill City is also home to memory care units, which have just recently gone on the market. The building features the Smith & Porter restaurant and the Porter Café, which are both operated by the developer and slated to open Jan. 9. The project is connected to the adjacent Mill City Quarter development with the city’s first woonerf, a curbless street or plaza shared by cars, bikers and pedestrians.

200 Central

200 Central Ave. SE

Alatus

Alatus has delayed the demolition of a funeral home in Southeast Minneapolis and the adjacent St. Anthony Commercial Club building to make way for a new condo tower pending a court hearing on a neighborhood group’s request for an injunction. Neighbors for East Bank Livability have previously appealed the Minneapolis-based developer’s approximately 40-story condominium tower, proposed for a high-profile site at Central & 2nd near the downtown Minneapolis riverfront. The developer originally planned to begin demolition in mid-November and to move to construction of the tower before the end of the year. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 23.

Macy’s

700 Nicollet Mall

Macy’s

Macy’s has told the City of Minneapolis that it is planning to close its flagship store on Nicollet Mall next year, according to the Twin Cities Business Magazine. A spokeswoman with the company declined to comment on whether it has informed officials of plans to close the store, but reiterated that Macy’s has openly discussed efforts to monetize its real estate across the country. The company announced last fall that the store, once the longtime home of Dayton’s department store and headquarters, was one of several potential redevelopment projects. Much of the upper floors of the building, located at Nicollet & 7th in downtown Minneapolis, are empty.

Hennepin County Government Center

300 S. 6th St.

Hennepin County

Crews recently wrapped up work on the $3.5-million renovation of the plaza outside the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis. The project to repair and re-waterproof the south plaza’s pool and fountain began in May and involved blocking off part of the plaza. The renovation also added two pedestrian ramps on the plaza’s north side. This year the Government Center plaza was home to the downtown farmers market, which is typically hosted along Nicollet Mall. Once the renovation project on the mall is completed the market is expected to return to the original location.

U.S. Bank Stadium bridge

401 Chicago Ave.

Metropolitan Council

The price tag for a pedestrian bridge linking U.S. Bank Stadium’s plaza to the nearby light-rail platform came in about $1 million higher than anticipated. The Metropolitan Council’s Transportation Committee recently approved a number of change orders regarding the project, which was supposed to cost $9.65 million but ended up costing about $10.6 million. According to a change order, the Metropolitan Council said a consultant team made several errors in the design that led to additional construction costs. The Council covered the extra expenditure but is seeking to recover nearly half, or about $465,000, from the consultant. The Minnesota Vikings contributed $6 million to the project.

Old Spaghetti Factory building

233 Park Ave. S.

Sherman Associates

Sherman Associates submitted plans to the City Planning Commission in early December to add a fourth floor office space to the Old Spaghetti Factory building in Downtown East. The project is part of a full-block redevelopment that will add a six-story apartment building with a Trader Joe’s grocery store and convert the Advance Thresher building into a 182-room Canopy by Hilton hotel. Shane LaFave, Sherman Associates’ director of multifamily development, said in an email that an existing tenant within the building will use the additional 8,400 square feet of office space. The developer also has offices in the building.

Top photo: T3 in the North Loop. By Eric Best