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<br /> October 15, 2001 y Minnesota Real Estate Journal VidrO� Page 7
<br /> Hopkins redevelops historic do wn district
<br /> $20 MILLION PROJECT
<br /> TO TRANSFORM SITE
<br /> The city of Hopkins continues repo- t"i flan;'w ^1 a
<br /> vation along its historic downtown t ; k �3
<br /> Mainstreet with plans for Marketplace i ,-t F1 E K t z
<br /> Lofts, a $20 million mixed-use devel- tw
<br /> opment. The 1.5-acre project, slated for E r
<br /> a half-block between Seventh and ffi I , �� l�
<br /> Eighth avenues, will consist of 15,000 n
<br /> '-- ,, i:iiiiii,W
<br /> =�`#;-: •, t om - 44_,=,-4,44,4k, 'a' y,"..
<br /> square feet of retail, 42 for-sale lofts
<br /> and 56 for-sale condominium and town t3home units with underground parking ] 2s na ,U. gmaj a, j i I
<br /> and public courtyards.
<br /> "You're always in a redevelopment
<br /> mode in a town like Hopkins," says
<br /> Steve Mielke, the city's manager. Dur RENDERING COURTESY OF DJR ARCHITECTURE INC.
<br /> •
<br /> ing the past 10 years, the city has The proposal for Marketplace Lofts, presented by The Cornerstone Group in conjunction with RMF Entities Ltd.,won the
<br /> focused its redevelopment efforts on its bid with the city of Hopkins.The approval process is now under way,with hopes for a June 2002 groundbreaking.
<br /> downtown, he says, including the area
<br /> near 11th and Mainstreet where Mann
<br /> Theaters, a restaurant and the Hopkins lis Warehouse District, but not everyone Marketplace Lofts were receiving phone projects, such as Marketplace Lofts,
<br /> Center for the Arts were added about can afford or has the desire to live in a calls from residents asking to be placed aren't currently planned.
<br /> five years ago. major downtown market. on a waiting list should they become the "Frankly, with the changes of the
<br /> Mielke considers Marketplace Lofts "So we see the potential in suburban chosen developer, "which tells us Legislature over tax increment and
<br /> to be the east bookend to the historic markets, especially in places like Hop- there's a very strong market." property valuations, we're running out
<br /> downtown area. "It's just the next step," kins —which already have an existing Also, Oaks of Mainstreet, a 1998 res of tools to be able to do projects," he
<br /> he says, adding that Hopkins has a downtown — to replicate some of the idential development consisting of 66 says. "What we're going to have to do
<br /> strong community identity,but residents trends that are happening in the bigger townhomes, sold out 12 months into the is work on getting additional resources
<br /> are looking for a different kind of hous- cities," she says. three-year project, he says, though the before we could do another large-scale
<br /> ing mix. Minneapolis-based Larson, Allen, homes sold at a lower price point than project." Joyce Goodrich
<br /> The city will use economic develop- Weishair & Co. LLP (LAWCO) has Marketplace Lofts.
<br /> ment funds, not tax increment financ- been hired to conduct a full market As far as future plans for city rede-
<br /> ing, to procure the property and demo- study on both the housing and retail velopment, Mielke says there are some
<br /> lition. components for the project. infill sites to work on, but bigger-scale
<br /> Even without subsidy, the city had The site is currently parking lots and
<br /> eight developers vying for the project. approximately 10,000 square feet of
<br /> The Co erstone„Gr p, baa under-utilized retail s. ace, ncludin .a R T:- ,, = _ =
<br /> i The. in , vas'terc ecl It-a spec special , sly g , �#• n,, r 1, 4
<br /> paint store, a barber shop, a temporary , , .. �,
<br /> Sept. 25 city council meeting. The employment agency and an animal feed
<br /> group is partnering with retail develop-- store.The- city had been considering the
<br /> er RMF Entities Ltd. of Edina. site for renovation for several years. :,.....,..:.„,...1:...,:f.:.,,,:::•,1.,:i':•?::::.:::.g..:•::::;,•,..--.1:i::?.1,0.7f';i4,1,11,1!„,i11,?..ii,,,!!-„,,.'?,,,:l.,,I.,:,,,!:,,!:.:!.,!,,:,.:1:!,,,,-,!ii,,v;.F7T.bil:•..F.f:E,.:::•:,;::T.,:;i.,:;,/,,,...:;„„:„--;r3f.!.7.'.'..f.,,,,;,;.i.:';;;.':;....',.",„:„.•:;,:,.:::::Fs'''.. .,,,,r:„.;:!:,•:;;;;.'.::!.'....,':.T.':..:':.,!1.,.1,11,1,:::11!,•.•!,1:1,;!•.!,;:!:!.;:ii„:„•,:,
<br /> "We felt that the creativity [Corner- "The building's themselves are in
<br /> stone] brought to . the project was very poor shape. They're turn of the
<br /> superb. We liked the projects that we century buildings," Mielke says.
<br /> had seen from them in the past and the "They're not architecturally significant,
<br /> things that they're working on current- they're just old." ` ,
<br /> ly,"Mielke says, citing the James J.Hill The city received several complaints
<br /> Building in St. Paulus an example. from property owners and local busi
<br /> The city plans to sell the razed prop- nesses that the area was"not helping the
<br /> erty to Cornerstone and RMF at market market." Two years ago, a developer
<br /> .,h
<br /> value. The partnership will maintain proposed an office building on the site, Grit lli 18 � t0 t311Uunc I1t11
<br /> ownership of the retail piece and sell the Plans subsequently fell through, but the , successfulJes ntati o
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<br /> housing units to individual owners. city was inspired and began acquiring
<br /> Heidi Kurtze, Cornerstone's develop- pieces of the property shortly thereafter.
<br /> ment manager, is excited about the pro- The process has only begun. City
<br /> ject. "We have an interest in expanding development and zoning approvals must
<br /> our company's portfolio to include more be met, along with much due diligence, i : ,: , MPA fi'€
<br /> mixed-use projects. We see that as the Mielke says. But he hopes a predevel
<br /> wave of the future in terms of redevel- opment agreement will be in front of the
<br /> opment," she says. "There aren't a lot of city council by the first part of Novem- in the di position L� rll l * 1n Dear orn,;Mi hig ,
<br /> .....;,,,,,::,..,...;.,...,,,,i.:1.:::;::::::;...::;..,,,,,,,.::.,..
<br /> developers out there who are good at ber and the land cleared in time for a yid tt ,. t lli s1T f 1 j 0 p� OO j
<br /> both residential and retail." June 2002 groundbreaking. If all goes
<br /> While Cornerstone has done a lot of well, the site will be ready for occupan
<br /> residential acquisition and rehabilitation cy,by early 2003.
<br /> work, it is partnering with RMF, which ""We're not your typical suburb,"
<br /> specializes in retail developments, MI�elke says, stating that 65 percent of '�
<br /> including a number of projects along St. Hopkins' residential community con-
<br /> Paul's Grand Avenue. RMF has begun sists of multifamily housing. "Hopkins "
<br /> discussions with potential retailers, but is a very compact town. We've got 4.5
<br /> no leases have been signed. square miles of land area. We've got5:;.;-. y°::_,;,,,,
<br /> The project architect is Minneapolis- 17,000 people. That's about 4,000 peo-
<br /> based DJR Architecture Inc. A general pie per square mile:' Dou Puiwn at! radsxy
<br /> contractor has not yet been selected. Due to the high percentage of afford
<br /> "We're trying to provide a [housing] able housing already in the area, Hop- Doug Fulton artd Matt Friday represented flash Fi ch''''''''''''''.9.'.....,ug can be:reached at
<br /> mix that raises the bar in Hopkins over kins has met all the affordable housing 952.908.1227. or doug.fuiton gr`ubb-ellis eum. Matt c . , be reached: at:,.,
<br /> what has been done in the Main Street goals in the Livable Communities Act, 952.908.1208 or at ma-tthew friddy6grttblb-ellis,co
<br /> area already, but also addresses the Mielke says. The city council deter
<br /> affordability issue," Kurtze says. She mined this project should be owner-
<br /> estimates the completed units will sell occupied and "a little more upscale' fT111.i1.t� 5
<br /> for$150,000 to $250,000. than the city's current housing mix. .rl ' I
<br /> Kurtze says research shows a strong "We're looking to diversify our housing Prop rtySolutio t�orldwide
<br /> desire for urban lifestyle living in sub- stock a little more,"Mielke says. l arkway ti to t zr Mirrn tor�,-
<br /> urban locations. People are drawn to The community has reaffirmed the .. x rri f bb-ellrs coin
<br /> major downtown central business dis- need for this type of housing. Mielke 95 9 ' � 9 3 ;t
<br /> tricts, she says, such as the Minneapo- says the prospective developers for
<br /> Jransaotxon fryi l s+Mars sge of S a c s .,,,, , a1 w,... Scttxtegtl ert?r e
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