Minneapolis Jaguar Site To See New Development
The old Jaguar car dealership in downtown Minneapolis may soon get its long-awaited new life. Developer Ryan Cos. is expected to sign a purchase agreement next week for the Hennepin Avenue site to build a new apartment building with retail space, say sources with knowledge of the deal.
Tony Barranco, retail development director with Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos., confirmed he’s heading up the company’s effort on the project but declined to comment.
The key downtown block, 2.4 acres at 222 Hennepin Ave., has been empty for some time. Milliken Development Group, based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, originally paid $14 million for the block in 2005, and tried to develop a condo tower with a Whole Foods grocery store, but that project fizzled as the condo market got quickly crowded and the recession hit. The property went back to HSBC Bank USA about a year ago. The site’s assessed market value for tax purposes is now about $6 million, property records show.
Richard Palmiter, the CB Richard Ellis broker who’s been marketing the real estate, wouldn’t comment. He has said there’s been a good deal of interest in the site. The Jaguar dealership closed in 2007 and moved to Golden Valley.
Ryan Cos. is one of the state’s largest developers whose notable local projects include the AT&T Tower in downtown Minneapolis and Target Corp.’s corporate headquarters.
News of the Ryan deal caught some insiders off guard. David Frank, chair of the North Loop Neighborhood Association and the city’s new director of Transit Development, said he hadn’t heard about it, but looks forward to hearing from the developer.
“We hope it fulfills as many of their goals and the neighborhood’s goals as possible,” Frank said. “The neighborhood definitely has a desire for a grocery store. If there’s one in the Ryan Cos. plans for the site, we’ll be glad to hear about it.”
Ann Calvert, principal project coordinator for the city’s Community Planning and Economic Development department, said she also hadn’t heard about the deal.
Written by Jennifer Bjorhus • Star Tribune
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August 23, 2011 at 10:19 pm, Lunds grocery store to break ground in downtown Minneapolis said:
[...] but for the Loring Park neighborhood! Keep your eyes peeled for demolition to begin on the Whole Foods site at Hennepin and Washington this fall. Share and [...]