North Loop project flips from apartments to condos

When the developers of a mixed-use development in the North Loop neighborhood in Minneapolis announced plans for the project in 2016, they said it would include rental apartments. Those units have been built, but they are now being offered as for-sale condominiums called the Sable.

Although the change was formally announced this week, United Properties and Greco, which codeveloped the project, said more than half the units have been reserved.

The condos range from 450 to more than 1,500 square feet and are priced from $250,000 to $975,000. Most are studios and one-bedroom units; seven will have two bedrooms. Amenities will include a rooftop deck with two outdoor fireplaces. Occupancy is scheduled to begin in June.

Gordy Stofer, vice president of office development for United Properties, said the decision was based on changing market conditions. With more than 1,500 rental units coming online later this year but far fewer condos in the pipeline, the last-minute decision to change course made financial sense, he said.

Stofer said he hopes the Sable will attract condo buyers who want the flexibility to offer their units as rentals through unusual provisions in the Sable's homeowner's association documents, which unlike most homeowner's associations will allow short-term rentals.

"Sable is poised to fill a gap in the market, offering increased flexibility and affordability for owners," he said. "Because of this, Sable has been especially attractive for millennial buyers who have been previously priced out of the market."

Though the rental market is still strong, he said, the appearance of rent concessions including rent discounts and other incentives suggests some softening in that market.

"It feels like we're potentially on the downward half of that demand arc," Stofer said.

The decision wasn't purely financially motived, he said.

"From a community-building standpoint, it's something a little different to balance out what has been a seemingly never-ending pipeline of rental units," he said. "This creates a more well-rounded community."

The Sable is adjacent to a 10-story, mixed-use office project at 729 N. Washington Av. called the Nordic, which already has several tenants including the Ovative Group. Work is underway on space for WeWork, Thr3 Jack and the Galley Group, whose 8,700 square-foot food hall is expected to open this summer.

The developers of the Sable said it's the first condo project to come to market in the North Loop in at least a decade.

The project has already been built, putting it ahead of a handful of others that have been on the drawing board for years.

Site work is underway on the Eleven, an upscale tower in the Mill District. The developer of Alia, a luxury high-rise across the river from downtown Minneapolis, has been taking reservations, but groundbreaking has been delayed while it lines up new financing. A 10-story all-timber condo building in the North Loop is working its way through the approvals process; its developer hopes to break ground this fall.

Jim Buchta • 612-673-7376