(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Sold! 7West Apartments, designed with the help of a feng shui master, fetches $54.5 million
The apartment building in Minneapolis was the first to receive LEED Gold certification
October 28, 2015 at 3:27PM
Weidner strikes again! The Kirkland, Washington-based apartment owner and manager paid $54.5 million for the 218-unit 7West luxury apartments at Seven Corners near the University of Minnesota campus in downtown Minneapolis.
The deal was brokered by Keith Collins, Abe Appert, and Laura Hanneman of CBRE's Minneapolis office, which represented the seller, Eden Prairie-based Grandma's Associates, LLC.
Weidner Apartment Homes has been on a buying spree in the Twin Cities metro. The company has recently made about a half dozen recent acquisitions in the metro. Last year the company paid a record $109 million for 222 Hennepin, a mixed-use project along Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis that has a Whole Foods Market and 286 luxury apartments. Most recently the company paid $3.75 million for a 13-acre building site across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Paul. Weidner's regional headquarters at the Carlson Center East II, a 62,112 square-foot office building at 130 Cheshire Lane in Minnetonka that Weidner bought for $4.65 million in May. Weidner has properties in nine states, four Canadian provinces and owns more than 41,000 apartments.
7West was built in 2014 and was the first multifamily building in the city to receive LEED Gold certification. It was built with the help of a feng shui master who consulted on certain design aspects including the best position for the lobby at the busy intersection. The deal includes a commercial public parking ramp with 329 parking spaces that was originally owned by the City of Minneapolis and is used by the adjacent Courtyard by Marriott Hotel. The site was the home Grandma's Saloon and Grill. The project was developed by Solhem Companies and TE Miller Development.
"7west was an innovative project for our team," said Robb Miller of TE Miller Development. "Solhem Companies and TE Miller Development are proud to have been a part of the ongoing revitalization of Minneapolis's historic Seven Corners."
The city boosters have organized the strategy around four main pillars: neighborhood cultivation, foundational safety, hassle-free systems and irresistible vibe. Ideas include adding an outdoor ice rink to standardizing skyway hours.
