36-STORY TOWER PLANNED FOR THE NORTH LOOP

A parking lot adjacent to the Twins Stadium is set to become home to a large mixed-use development.

Houston-based Hines has revealed that they are planning a new development called “North Loop Green” on the site located at 350 N Fifth Street in the North Loop neighborhood. The development would include a 36-story residential building and a 14-story office building.

The 36-story building would be home to 450 rental apartments. Those units would be split into two different types with 360 of them being market-rate apartments and another 90 being short-term rental apartments. Each apartment type would have their own designated lobbies but both would share the same amenities.

The 14-story building would be home to 340,000 square feet of office space and has actually already landed a tenant for a portion of that space. ESG Architecture & Design, the firm who also designed the project, has committed to move their entire office of 175 employees from their current space on Washington Avenue to the new office tower once complete in late 2022.

ESG was selected by Hines after a national search due to their understanding of Minneapolis and the number of projects they have completed within the city. North Loop Green is ESG’s largest project that they have worked on to date.

When it comes to the design of North Loop Green it was designed with transit and density in mind. Hines hopes that the site can be an “urban oasis” for travelers coming from the Blue and Green light rail lines, the Northstar Commuter Rail and the Cedar Lake Trail.

A new “grand staircase” along with pathways and plazas will be built within the site that will connect it to the Cedar Lake Trail below. A large plaza will be located in front of the two towers that will feature gathering space for the community. 15,000 square feet of retail space will be located off of this plaza on the ground floor of each building.

When it comes to the designs of the buildings Hines wanted to ensure that characteristics from both the North Loop and the Downtown Central Business District where both included. ESG therefore designed the buildings to feature clean and crisp silhouettes that draw from many of the designs of skyscrapers in the CBD while also featuring handmade design elements inspired by the North Loop.

One unique design element of North Loop Green will be an “amenity bridge” that spans between the two buildings. Due to the taller floor-to-floor heights in the office building the bridge will connect on the 17th story of the residential building and the 14th story of the office building. Within the bridge there will be 5,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor space to house a restaurant and bar that will have stunning views of the downtown skyline.

Hines has owned the site where North Loop Green will be constructed since 2012. The site is part of a 6 acre-parcel of land where Hines has already developed two phases with the first being Dock Street Flats and the second being the T3 office building.

This also isn’t the first proposal that Hines has had in the works for 350 N Fifth Street. Back when The Development Tracker first began Hines was exploring another two-tower proposal that would have included two 20-story buildings. One of the buildings would have included office space while the other had not been determined at the time. You can see that proposal here.

Hines will submit their plans for North Loop Green to the city of Minneapolis and the North Loop neighborhood later this week. The project still will need to go through all of the formal city review processes which means construction most likely wouldn’t begin until Spring 2020 at the earliest.

We’ll be sure to post more information right here on our website about this exciting project as it becomes available.