Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Perkins Levin propose rentals

Kelly Busche//March 22, 2021//

Rendering at 125 Lowry Ave. NE and 2512 2nd St. NE

A rendering of Perkins Levin Development’s proposed multiuse apartment building at 125 Lowry Ave. NE and 2512 2nd St. NE. (Submitted image)

Rendering at 125 Lowry Ave. NE and 2512 2nd St. NE

A rendering of Perkins Levin Development’s proposed multiuse apartment building at 125 Lowry Ave. NE and 2512 2nd St. NE. (Submitted image)

Perkins Levin propose rentals

Kelly Busche//March 22, 2021//

Listen to this article

A proposed seven-story apartment building in northeast Minneapolis is heading to the city’s planning commission for approval on Monday.

With high confidence in the neighborhood’s housing and retail market, Perkins Levin Development proposed a multiuse apartment building at 125 Lowry Ave. NE and 2512 2nd St. NE. The structure would replace two, single-story commercial buildings that exist on the site.

Drew Levin, president of Perkins Levin, said the developers are investing in the northeast Minneapolis market due to high confidence that others will also be investing in the neighborhood.

“There’s not a lot of places in the Twin Cities that you … have the urban energy with a quieter, suburban feel — and this is one of those pockets,” he said. Levin and his business partner Danny Perkins are known for their HGTV show, Renovate to Rent.

The proposed apartments will be complementary to other neighborhood projects, including the Upper Harbor Terminal project as well as the next door Market Bar-B-Que and a brewery proposed by Red Cow.

“We believe that projects next door to us need more residential units in the area,” Levin said.

Levin declined to comment on the project’s cost, but said they “believe the project, as a whole, is going to be really financially successful.”

The company’s other projects include Sawyer & Huck, Lucille, Frances, Lumos and Boutique 28 apartment buildings, according to Perkins Levin’s website.

The project is across Second Street Northeast from Clare Housing’s Marshall Flats, and is immediately south of Fulton Beer along the same street. The property is around half a mile east of the Mississippi River.

With light industrial uses, potential restaurant developments and residential uses surrounding the property, “this unique location presents the challenge of designing a project that is responsive to all the neighboring uses while still furthering the overall development goals of the City,” according to planning documents.

As a result, the proposed building uses brick, metal panels and concrete panels on the exterior. With clean lines and simple use of material, the building pulls influence from the neighborhood’s industrial uses and contemporary Scandinavian design, according to the documents.

The new structure will house 209 rental units — some of which are affordable units — and 1,600 square feet of makerspace. The project is located on less than 1 acre of land, the documents said.

Levin said they’re partnering with local art organizations that can use the makerspace and, hopefully, create art for the building

The building’s residential amenities and makerspaces could be converted to retail or commercial space in the future, he said, if the market returns to pre-pandemic levels.

Studios, alcoves, and one- and two-bedroom units will be located on floors three through seven, while over 150 parking spots will make up the first and second floors. Levin said rents will range on the lower end of market-rate prices.

The two properties that make up the site are currently owned by different entities. One, called “J J FLAHERTY & J M FLAHERTY” owns property at 2512 2nd St. NE, which it purchased in 1991 for $185,000. Now, the property has an estimated property value of $625,000, according to Hennepin County property records.

M CLUB PROPERTIES LLC, which shares a name with the project’s applicant name, purchased the second property, at 125 Lowry Ave. NE, in 2017 for $550,000. This property is currently valued at $560,000, according to property records.

The developer is requesting a variance to the building height, which would allow the building to be seven stories, up from the allowed six floors. Also included in the application is a rezoning request, to rezone the project properties from medium industrial districts to a community activity center district.

The Community Planning & Economic Development department recommends the Planning Commission approve the application and related requests.

RELATED:

Uptown apartment building fetches $15.1 million

More apartments proposed in Uptown

Upcoming business events

See the full list of events here

Beyond The Skyline Podcast

    Beyond the Skyline is a podcast and video interview about economic development, real estate and construction in Minnesota.

    Listen here