FIVE-STORY COMMERCIAL BUILDING PLANNED FOR HARRISON NEIGHBORHOOD

Wellington Management is planning a second commercial building in the Harrison neighborhood.

The Minneapolis Planning Commission earlier this month approved plans for Leef South, a five-story commercial building that will be constructed at the corner of Currie Avenue W and Irving Avenue N. The building will be located directly across the street from Leef North, a three-story, 65,000 square foot office building that was completed in June 2019.

When complete, Leef South will include 104,145 square feet of commercial space. The upper floors of the building will include office space while the ground floor will be home to space for two retail tenants. Ideally the retail space will be filled by a coffee/shop restaurant and another retailer that offers general retail sales or services that would benefit the surrounding neighborhood.

146 parking spaces will be included within two parking levels within the building and also on a surface parking lot. The surface parking lot will prove to be more than just a place for vehicles to park as it has been designed in a way that it can allow for temporary short-term flooding in the case of a 100-year storm event.

Leef South was designed by Collage Architects. The project will be developed by Wellington Management, INC. and constructed by RJ Ryan Construction, INC. Construction on the project is anticipated to begin in 2020 and be complete in late 2021.

Leef South (left), Leef North (middle), Northside Artspace Lofts (right).

The Harrison neighborhood and the area surrounding it is going through a transformation after years of being known for industrial, warehouse and distribution buildings. The Southwest Light Rail/Green Line Extension will add a station just .32 miles away from the Leef South site when it begins service in 2023. The site is also located just two blocks away from a planned station along the C-Line Bus Rapid Transit route.

Other planned projects within the area include Northside Artspace Lofts, a six-story, 100-unit affordable housing project that is intended for Artists. The building will be constructed on half-block of vacant land directly next to the Leaf North building and is anticipated to be complete in spring 2021. Two more residential projects are in the works just down the road that would add another 200 apartments to the neighborhood.

Leef South is planned for 199 Irving Avenue N in the Harrison neighborhood.