Building that houses Barrio on Nicollet Mall sells for $10.1M

The stretch of Nicollet between 9th and 10th Streets includes Barrio, Rojo and The Local.

A century-old building on Nicollet Mall at 9th Street that houses Barrio restaurant and other businesses has been sold to a Florida family for $10.1 million.

The so-called "9s on Nicollet Mall," which was valued for tax purposes at $4 million by Hennepin County, sold for $10.1 million, according to Harrison Wagenseil, a real estate broker who represented the Florida-based buyer. The buyer, a family-run commercial real estate business with holdings in Europe and the southeastern United States, recently sold a "trophy asset" on St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota, Fla., and sought geographic diversity in their U.S. portfolio.

"The family liked the trajectory of Nicollet Mall: the forthcoming Gateway project and [9s] proximity to Target's headquarters and U.S. Bancorp Center [across the mall]," Wagensil said. "There is also upside in filling the old Rush Bridal unit and backfilling space given up when Rojo [Mexican Restaurant] took over for Randle's. We'd been pursuing the building for over a year. More people are living downtown. 9s on Nicollet met all their requirements: solid tenants, strong foot traffic, and it's just good real estate".

The 9s on Nicollet is located at 915-927 Nicollet Mall. The connected buildings are home to Barrio and Rojo Mexican restaurants and The Stable, The Wilko Group and Escape The Room.

Broker Russ McGinty represented the Rush children, now in their 60s, and who owned the 9s building that once housed the family's Rush Bridal, for decades a downtown retail cornerstone. He said the family invested about $4 million to upgrade the building several years ago, including a skyway across Nicollet Mall, an elevator, and money to tenants to upgrade their spaces.

McGinty said the restaurants have reported increased patronage since the rebuilding of the Nicollet Mall concluded in 2018.

"I wouldn't call the restaurant-retail market in the area frothy, but it's better since completion of the Nicollet Mall renovation," he said. "There's more interest. It's steady."