Stay in the Loop

A project to bring one of the oldest buildings in the North Loop into the 21st century is set to begin this July.

The Lowry-Morrison building at Washington & 2nd will see updates to its masonry, windows and more as part of a plan to prepare it for new retail and office tenants.

Following demolition work in the spring, crews will now move to renovation work in July, said JoAnna Hicks, a principal at Element Commercial Real Estate. The Minneapolis-based company is the development consultant and will also handles leasing on the project.

The three-story building has been largely vacant for the past 20 years, she said, and much of it will be gutted beyond the brick and wood structure. After the shell of the building is rehabilitated by around the end of the year, Element hopes to attract office tenants to the top floors and retail tenants, possibility including a restaurant, to the main level.

This is the first historic tax credit project from building owner John Rimarcik, who owns several local buildings and restaurants like the nearby Monte Carlo, Hicks said. Adsit Architecture and Planning is the architect and historical consultant on the project. The firm has done several similar historic preservation projects in the area, including the Pacific Flats building — known for tenants like Shinola and Edina Realty — and the 1925 Bradshaw Building, now home to Pixel Farm.

Element lists the retail spaces, which range from 1,500 square feet to 5,000 square feet, for $35 per square foot. Rent for office spaces, which will be in 5,000-square-foot floor plates or split into 2,500-square-foot offices, will rent for $20 per square foot. The firm hasn’t leased any spaces yet, Hicks said.

The 1879 building, named for original investors and historic city figures Thomas Lowry and Clinton Morrison, has had many uses in its nearly 140-year history, from housing fish vendors to other wholesalers.