800 WASHINGTON AVE S PROPOSALS REVEALED

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Sherman's most recent proposal for a mixed-use project at 800 Washington Avenue S.

Round two. Here we go.

The City of Minneapolis issued a RFP (request for proposals) for a 0.56 acre site located at 800 Washington Avenue S back in April, today the proposals were revealed.

Before we start explaining the proposals let us tell you that it wasn't the first time the city was seeking development proposals for the site.

Mortenson's original proposal

In 2015 the city also submitted a RFP for 800 Washington Avenue S and it received a number of proposals for the site. In the end the city chose a 10 story proposal from Mortenson that would have included a 235 room Hyatt Centric hotel along with 15,000 square feet of office space for the adjacent American Academy of Neurology (AAN) to expand into. However, those plans never came to fruition and shortly after Mortenson was chosen the company walked away from the site.

That brings us to today, a day in which the city of Minneapolis reveals the four proposals it received during round two, one of those proposals being from one of the original developers seeking to build on the site. Let's start with that proposal.

SHERMAN ASSOCIATES (MIXED USE PROJECT)

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Sherman's 2015 proposal.

In 2015 Sherman Associates submitted a proposal for a 9 story mixed-use building with a 140 room Kimpton Hotel, 15,700 sqf of office space on the third floor for Sherman Associates new headquarters, and a 25,000 sqf Pinstripes bowling alley on the first and second floor.

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Sherman's 2018 proposal.

The proposal submitted the second time around looks somewhat similar on paper, however a shift from hotel rooms to apartments has occurred while the exterior design has also been updated.

This time around Sherman Associate's proposal is for a 10 story mixed-use building. The first and second floor would still include a Pinstripes bowling alley, the third story would still be home to office space, this time around space for the AAN, and the remaining floors above would instead be devoted to 112 apartments. 20 percent of the housing units proposed would be affordable units for those making less than 60% of the area's median income.

The estimated cost for the project would be around $54 million.

AECOM (MIXED-USE PROJECT)

AECOM, a developer based out of LA, has proposed a mixed-use project that would be eight stories tall. Little was given on the details of the project, however the building would house 76 for sale condo units along with office space for AAN on the lower floors.

More information should be available in the coming weeks about this proposal.

OPPIDIAN INVESTMENT COMPANY (COMMERCIAL PROJECT)

Based out of Excelsior, MN, Oppidian Investment Company has pitched a six to eight story building that would be entirely commercial. The goal would be to attract a large office tenant that would lease a majority of the space within the project.

Developers state the the building would be perfect for a company who is "image conscious" and a company that "values a human-scale building — not one for 20 tenants in a 250,000-square-foot building."

Overall the Oppidian's proposal is expected to cost somewhere between $40-$60 million.

Oppidian is also currently developing The Capp, a mixed-use project under construction off of Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis. That project made the headlines earlier this year as it will be home to Cub Foods first ever small-format store. In addition to the 46,000 square foot grocery store, there will also be 3,100 sqf of additional retail space, 148 apartment units located on five of the upper levels of the project, and a public plaza.

45 NORTH GROUP (COMMERCIAL PROJECT)

A local startup firm based out of St. Louis Park is proposing a five story, 72,000 square foot building with ground floor retail space and offices on the upper floors.

45 North Group has stated that the building would be energy efficient, even qualifying as "net zero," meaning that the project would generate as much energy as it uses. This would be achievable due to an expansive set of solar panels planned for the top of the building.

No overall price for the project was given.

We'll have more information for the proposals mentioned above in the coming weeks.