Photo by Caitlin Abrams
Building being built
The condo mania of 2004 to 2006 is long gone. Nearly all of the construction cranes you see today are for new rental apartment complexes. The only condos under construction in downtown Minneapolis are so expensive that no one will tell you exactly how much the units cost.
There is currently only one pure condo project under construction in downtown Minneapolis. The 41-story Eleven has 118 units and is set to open in February 2022. Prices start at $900,000, but finding buyers has not been a problem.
“We’re now more than two-thirds sold out,” says Carl Runck, director of real estate development for co-developer Ryan Companies. “Downtown was slower last year, but it’s definitely picked back up.”
Runck says that the lure of Eleven is that it’s a one-of-a-kind project with panoramic views, high attention to interior design, spacious heated terraces for every unit, and top-flight amenities.
Despite hand-wringing about the future of downtown, the latest numbers from the Minneapolis Downtown Council show that more people than ever—about 53,000—live in the core.
The under-construction RBC Gateway tower at the north end of Nicollet Mall is primarily an office building and a Four Seasons hotel, but it will include 33 condos at the top of the building, from floors 31 to 37. The residences are set to open in May–June 2022.
Bill Katter, co-president of developer United Properties, acknowledges that condos in the RBC tower are comparable in price to Eleven but declines to talk specifics. “We’ve sold several units…we have a fairly good list of interested parties,” says Katter.
At the moment, there’s just one other potential new downtown condo project on the horizon. Los Angeles–based AECOM is floating a proposal for a unique 134-unit condo project on a site near the Guthrie. The proposed development calls for a mix of market-rate and affordable units.
In the long term, developers are bullish on the central business district after the pandemic pall has lifted. Eventually, new condo projects will surface again.
“I believe that downtown Minneapolis is coming back,” Katter says.
