Minneapolis’ Building Boom Continues with Another Billion-Dollar Year

The Minneapolis building boom isn’t slowing down. The value of building permits for approved construction projects in the city of Minneapolis has topped $1 billion for the sixth consecutive year. On Thursday, the city of Minneapolis announced that the year-to-date building permit value was $1.02 billion as of September 15.
 
The volume is being driven in large part by the continued development of new apartment projects. The largest project of the year, however, is the rare new condominium building: the 374-unit Legacy project in the city’s Mill District. The value of the project’s building permit is $123.4 million. That single project currently represents 12 percent of the city’s year-to-date total.
 
Coon Rapids-based Shamrock Development Inc. is developing the Legacy. Shamrock’s longtime leader Jim Stanton, 81, died in June. On Thursday the web site for the project indicated that 127 units have been sold so far.
 
The city’s survey counts a project once a building permit is issued. The count for 2017 will continue to grow through the end of the year as additional projects move ahead. Some larger developments may have project costs counted in more than one year if building permits for various phases are pulled at different times.
 
Some of the biggest projects aren’t new buildings, but are extensive interior remodels and upgrades. Those projects include new headquarters and health club space for the YMCA at former Gaviidae Common retail space, office and retail space for Jack Link’s at Mayo Center Square and a new headquarters for Plymouth-based Select Comfort Corp., which is moving to downtown Minneapolis.
 
Since 2000, the low point for construction was $547.6 million in 2010 due to the Great Recession. The record was set in 2014 when the city saw $2 billion in building permits.
 
City statistics show that the value of all building permits in the five-year period from 2012 to 2016 totaled nearly $7.5 billion.   
 
The data is tracked by the city’s Community Planning and Economic Development department. The top 10 is dominated by projects in downtown Minneapolis, but also includes Fridley-based Thor Construction’s new headquarters in north Minneapolis.
 
According to CPED, the top ten construction projects based on building permit value are:
 

1. Legacy Condominium at 1240 Second St. S. valued at $123,425,731.
2. The Hub, a 26-story mixed-use building with 407-units at 600 Washington Ave SE. valued at $57,799,980.
3. Ironclad, a mixed-use building with 180-units and underground parking at 240 Chicago Ave. valued at $32,621,424. 
4. The Elliot hotel redevelopment at 523 Eighth St. S. valued at $25,924,185.
5. The Westminster Presbyterian Church addition with below grade parking at 1200 Marquette Ave. valued at $25,799,117. 
6. Thor Construction’s headquarters buildout at 1256 Penn Ave. N. valued at $24,568,252. 
7. YMCA buildout at 651 Nicollet Mall valued at $20,156,283. 
8. Bancroft Elementary School addition at 1315 38th St. E. valued at $19,377,000. 
9. Jack Link’s project at Mayo Clinic Square, a remodel at 600 Hennepin Ave. valued at $19,342,136.
10. Select Comfort’s new headquarters at 1001 Third Ave. S. valued at $19,098,037.