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Developer plans 71 'micro' apartments at new building in Uptown

March 10, 2017 at 3:46PM

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Address: 3009-3013 Holmes Av. S., Minneapolis

Units: 71

Size: 66,085 square feet

Developer: Solhem Cos.

Architect: Momentum Design Group

Details: Developer Curt Gunsbury's Solhem Cos. is expected to break ground in April on a new collection of market-rate "micro-unit" apartments.

The 71-unit building is planned for two lots just south of West Lake Street between the existing 3021 Holmes Avenue South Apartments — originally developed by Solhem in 2009 — and a two-story commercial building housing the Jon English Hairspa.

Floor plans show apartments ranging from 378 square feet to 811 square feet, with most averaging 550 square feet. Included in the plans are a rooftop patio, on-site parking for 39 cars and more than 90 bicycles, mezzanine-level conference and exercise rooms and a 1,000-square-foot lobby-lounge.

Its six stories and 90-foot height necessitated a variance from city zoning codes, which had set height limits on the Holmes Avenue block at four stories and 56 feet. A similarly sized apartment building next door served as a precedent.

The residential project likely won't be the last for the area around the Holmes Avenue-Lake Street intersection. The Sons of Norway property across the street was put up for sale last week, offering a parcel of more than two acres in the heart of one of the most desirable multifamily residential districts in the Twin Cities.

Don Jacobson