Developers pair up to build apartment building in Seward area of Minneapolis

A pair of Twin Cities developers will team to build a market-rate apartment building in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Minneapolis.

At a recent meeting of the Minneapolis Planning Commission's committee of the whole, Schafer Richardson, best known for developing hundreds of high-end rentals in the North Loop, and the nonprofit Seward Redesign, revealed plans to build 121 apartments in a five-story building that will take the place of a small commercial building on a 1.2-acre site at 2218 and 2200 Snelling Av. The project is the third element in the Seward Commons, a 4-acre redevelopment project that already includes 40 units of supportive housing for people with long-term mental illness and 60 income-restricted rentals for seniors.

The developers are requesting several variances and conditional use permits, including a request to build taller than is allowed by current zoning rules.

Seward Commons has aimed to create new housing for people with a mix of incomes that is in proximity to public transit. The project is just a few minutes from the Franklin Avenue stop on the Blue Line light rail route and is adjacent to the Hiawatha Bike Trail.

As of late, Richardson has focused on upscale new development and conversion projects in other parts of the city, including the North Loop neighborhood where the company is based.

The project in Seward Commons was designed by Kim Bretheim at Minneapolis-based LHB Architects. It will be a mix of materials, including brick, burnished concrete masonry units, fiber cement panels and siding, stucco and glass.

The building will have 95 parking spaces on two levels with access from Snelling Avenue and 22nd Street. Rents have not been established. Construction is expected to begin in July with occupancy starting in summer 2017.