Hot Property: The BROWNstone in St. Paul

Address: 839 W. University Av., St. Paul

Type: Mixed use

Apartment units: 35

Commercial space: 20,000 square feet

Developer: Model Cities of St. Paul

Architect: Trossen Wright Plutowski Architects

Details: The nonprofit Model Cities of St. Paul broke ground in June on the BROWNstone, an acronym for the Business Revitalization and Ownership for a Working Neighborhood project. Since then, general contractors Flannery Construction and Booker Construction started building it on the northeast corner of University Avenue and Victoria Street.

The site is adjacent to the Victoria Street station on the Green Line, where Model Cities believes the $14.8 million project will provide a new business and residential anchor.

The building will be four stories, with the ground floor featuring 20,000 square feet of commercial space for retail, office and community use. The upper stories will hold the Lofts at BROWNstone. One-bedroom units there will start at rents of $730 per month, with two-bedroom units beginning at $900.

Its exterior is highlighted by 7,000 square feet of outdoor space to be dedicated as a pocket park and green space. One of BROWNstone's special features will be public art installations celebrating the role of black Americans in building the U.S. rail system of the early 1900s.

Model Cities is also putting together the financial pieces for a similar project along the Green Line called Central Exchange, which is to be located at 771-785 W. University Av.