Address: 2618 Essex St. SE., Minneapolis
High ceilings, tall windows will highlight Micro Apartments at U
By Don Jacobson
February 16, 2017 at 10:32PM
Units: 25
Developer: GB Group LLC
Architect: Wells & Co. Architects
Details: The Minneapolis Planning Commission approved plans by GB Group of Minneapolis to tear down a 114-year-old rental triplex at 2618 Essex St. SE. to make way for an apartment building that will feature 23 micro units of around 350 square feet each. Two other units will be larger two-bedroom apartments.
William Wells of Wells & Co. Architects told the commissioners the building, to be called Micro Apartments, will feature 12-foot ceilings with tall windows and be aimed at graduate and medical students who are seeking easy pedestrian and bicycle access to the school. The building will have nine underground parking spaces. The lobby will feature 23 hanging bike racks.
The new project is adding to what has emerged as a hot growth market near and along 27th Avenue SE. The GB Group site is adjacent to that of the 195-unit Prime Place Apartments, which are set for a September opening, and next to a vacant lot owned by Swervo Development, which is slated to get a five-story apartment building. A new hotel is under construction nearby.
Micro unit apartments are gaining traction as an option for mainly young renters at a time when thousands of expensive upscale units have already been built. At least a half-dozen projects with micro units are under construction in popular but increasingly expensive neighborhoods.
about the writer
Don Jacobson
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