11 story office building planned for North Loop

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Proposal for 616 N. 5th Street | Schaefer Richardson

It's a development frenzy in the North Loop. This week another new project was announced for the ever growing and ever changing neighborhood BY Schaefer Richardson.

Located at 616 N. 5th Street on what currently is the site of a Weather-Rite warehouse, Schaefer Richardson plans to construct an 11 story, 200,000 square foot office building. One level of underground parking would be include, along with two above ground levels that would be wrapped in retail. The design for the overall structure is pretty iconic we'd say and to be honest, we absolutely love it.

The mid-rise features a dramatic use of light and dark tones. Designed by Minneapolis based UrbanWorks Architecture, the overall feel for the building plays off an "urban-industrial" design.

The unique "saw-tooth" (three triangular peaks) in the roofline create an interesting and defining element to the project which is a good thing as it will arguably be the tallest structure within the neighborhood once completed. However it's not just for looks as the roofline design will allow more natural light to filtrate from the North to the surrounding areas while also allowing for solar panels to potentially be installed facing the south.

A BELIEF IN THE NORTH LOOP

Schaefer Richardson currently owns quite a number of office properties in the North Loop however none are as large as what the company is currently proposing on the Weather-Rite site. While the project is the most recent to be proposed, it's not the only large scale development planned for the neighborhood... or even the block.

Currently United Properties' has a 10 story building in the planning process that will be located directly next to the Target Field light rail stop. The company is looking for a number of lease assurances before construction begins. Overall the development will dramatically change the overall feel and look of the area, especially with Schaefer Richardson's proposed project just down the block.

Meanwhile, across the Interstate 94 exit/entrance roadway that somewhat divides a portion of the North Loop, Hines is currently developing T3, a seven story office building with retail on the first floor that will be the first and largest wood structure of it's type within the country.

While Schaefer Richardson has debuted the plans for their North Loop project they will wait until half of the the space is leased within the building before construction begins.

AN ENTIRELY NEW BLOCK

As mentioned above, Schaefer Richardson's proposal comes on the heels of this particular block's redevelopment in the last five years. The area use to be filled with almost entirely office and industrial buildings... That was until a few housing developers took a chance and of course the Minnesota Twins selected the area for the new stadium.

Since the stadium opened this portion of Fifth Street has seen a number of new projects. Be The Match opened their brand new headquarters this past winter while last year Junction Flats, a new 6 story, 182 unit apartment building across the street from the Weather-Rite site, opened the year before.

Directly next to the site where Schaefer Richardson has proposed their office building District 600 opened this month, bringing a new 6 story building with ground floor retail and 78 apartment units to the neighborhood.

What also is quite interesting is that the current proposal from Schaefer Richardson will develop roughly 1/3 of the Weather-Rite site. Depending on how successful the first building is, the company could proceed with two additional phases including more retail, office and potentially even residential space.

Wondering what else is being developed in Minneapolis? Check out our development map here.