39 STORY MILL DISTRICT CONDO TOWER PLANNED BY WORLD-RENOWNED ARCHITECTURAL FIRM

Minneapolis. We're not screaming with excitement, you're screaming with excitement.

Meet Eleven, an ambitious and arguably iconic 39 story residential tower designed by world-renowned architectural firm, Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA).

Planned for a site that is currently a surface parking lot on West River Parkway within the Mill District, the building would be one of the largest and most expensive residential projects to be constructed in Minneapolis post recession.

Local Twin Cities developer Luigi Bernardi has partnered with Ryan Companies to develop the project.

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THE DESIGN

Designed in an Art Deco style, the 39 story tower would site atop of a low rise podium that would house parking, rentable guest suites and office space.

The 101 unit tower itself would feature no more than five residential units per floor with the smallest being 1,600 square feet in size. In addition, the tower residences would only feature two bedroom and larger units, something of a rarity within the Minneapolis condo market.

It takes quite a bit of work to design not only a building, but one that can be iconic and more importantly, age well. That's just what RAMSA did.

In the last couple of years, Paul Whalen, a lead design architect and partner at RAMSA, spent quite a bit of time in Minneapolis in order to understand the city and it's architecture. In crafting the design for Eleven, he drew inspiration, scale and details from other buildings found within Minneapolis' historic and notable neighborhoods such as the Mill District and North Loop. Paul's responsible for a number of other iconic RAMSA buildings within the world such as 15 Central Park West in NYC and One St. Thomas Street in Toronto.

This would be the RAMSA's first project in the Upper Midwest and their third project within the Midwest overall. Their latest project in Chicago is called One Bennett Park. Currently under construction, once completed the 69 story striking residential tower will feature 400 apartments and 100 condominium units.

MINNEAPOLIS' NEW CONDO INVENTORY

While Eleven is the newest condo project to emerge on the Minneapolis housing scene, it isn't the only one planned around the banks of the Mississippi River.

The Legacy, a 374 unit condominium project that reaches 17 stories at its highest point, is in fact under construction as we write directly behind the proposed site for Eleven on the River. That project, which will be complete in Fall 2018, has already sold over a quarter of their units.

In addition, there is a 40 story condo tower called "200 Central" that currently is being planned by developer Alatus on the Northeast side of the river. The site has been cleared for the project but a few legal battles from concerned neighbors had postponed the construction start. With those matters being addressed Alatus plans to begin construction later this year.

Now, don't let the setbacks of that last project concern you when it comes to Eleven on the River as this project is planned in a completely different area with completely different zoning requirements. Therefore it is very unlikely to hit any major snags in the development process.

COULD THIS PROJECT BE A REINCARNATION?

Some might say that Eleven is a direct response to another of Ryan Companies previous planned condo projects. The plan, for two art deco towers (not designed by the same firm) ranging in height from 22 to 26 stories, proposed for a site in Edina adjacent to Southdale Center. Ultimately, that project was not approved by the City of Edina due to height concerns (keep in mind there is a 18 story Westin pretty much across the street). At that point Ryan Companies told city officials they would take their plan elsewhere, likely combining those two planned buildings into one single structure. Could this be a new form of the project? Potentially.

But let's be honest, if it is a reincarnation of that project then this is Minneapolis' gain and Edina's loss. If it isn't, well, you go Minneapolis' for landing this one. It's about time another world-renowned architect puts their stamp on Minneapolis and we couldn't be more excited for it to be Robert A.M. Stern and his firm.

We'll keep you updated on this exciting project once it begins to go through the City of Minneapolis' planning review. Interested in a unit? Visit www.elevenontheriver.com