Minneapolis Sticks with Ryan Cos. for Residential Tower Near Vikings Stadium

By Ioana Neamt, Associate Editor

Downtown East

The Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted on Sept. 19 to stay with Ryan Cos. as developer of a residential tower in Block 1 of the Downtown East mixed-use project, rejecting a competing offer from the Minnesota Vikings.

The battle was fought over a parcel of land located on Fourth Street between Park and Chicago avenues, next to the future Vikings Stadium.

According to PropertyShark.com, the land was previously owned by Cowles Media Co. and is valued at $690,000.

Ryan Cos., the developer of Downtown East and an active presence in Minneapolis, lowered its offer from $5.6 million to $3 million after plans for a Radisson Red hotel on the property fell through earlier this year. The Minnesota Vikings made a last-minute offer of $8.1 million to build 16 to 18 stories of residential, retail and media space, but the city council ultimately decided to stick with the Minneapolis-based developer.

Ryan plans to build a 25- to 35-story apartment tower in partnership with Chicago-based Magellan Development Group. The tower will feature about 360 units, and will be an integral part of the Downtown East mixed-use development slated for completion in January 2016. This massive development project includes 1.2 million square feet of office space, two 18-story Wells Fargo towers, 28,000 square feet of retail space, almost 400 residential units, as well as 4.2 acres of green space. The project is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs over a period of 24 months.

According to the revised term sheet, the apartment tower, located at 728 Fourth St. South, will feature an amenity deck and additional parking on the seventh level of the Block 1 parking ramp. Upon completion of the project, Ryan Cos. will pay the city of Minneapolis $3 million for its use of the parcel. Council member Jacob Frey told Finance & Commerce that the decision to sell the air rights to Ryan shows the city’s intention to protect the public interest and the green space in front of Vikings Stadium, as Ryan’s plan includes a three-block urban park/plaza.

Image courtesy of Ryan Cos.

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