Hoyt Wins 7-Year Battle To Develop Loring Park Condos

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Persistence is paying off for developer Brad Hoyt, who won Minneapolis City Council approval on Aug. 5 to develop a scaled-back version of a condominium project he originally proposed in 2004. Hoyt plans to break ground shortly on a seven-story, 124-unit project located on the current site of a parking lot in Loring Park, a senior company executive told local media outlets.

As reported on the Twin Cities Business Web site, the city council’s approval ends a long legal dispute over the parcel. Hoyt’s original plan called for a 21-story tower that was rejected for being too tall for the neighborhood. Hoyt, owner of Continental Property Group Inc., sued the city in 2009, alleging that the council had denied him due process and equal protection in turning down the proposal.

 As reported by the Star-Tribune, the most recent legal milestone came last month, when the state appeals court rejected Hoyt’s claim that due process had been violated and overturned a lower court’s award of more than $500,000 in damages and attorney’s fees. But the appeals court also ordered the city council to re-hear the proposal. Last week, the City Council approved the scaled-back project.  

  According to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, the developer is working to secure project financing. The project’s general contractor is expectd to be Hopkins-based Frana Cos. and BKV Group is the project architect.