United Properties closes on $10.4M land sale for Gateway project in Minneapolis

United Properties has closed on the $10.4 million purchase of a city-owned parking lot in downtown Minneapolis to build its 37-story RBC Gateway project, the developer announced Wednesday.

On-site work begins this week on the project, which will include offices for RBC Wealth Management, a Four Seasons hotel, and condos. An official groundbreaking is scheduled for June 18, and the tower is expected to be completed in 2021.

While the development, located on the southeast corner of Washington and Hennepin avenues, has been dubbed the "Gateway project" for years, United Properties acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that the tower will be named for office tenant RBC.

RBC will also have a sign at the top of the building, a feature not normally allowed for Minneapolis skyscrapers.

"We are very excited as we put the finishing touches on all aspects of the RBC Gateway project," said Bill Katter, president and chief investment officer of United Properties Development, in a statement. "RBC Gateway represents the most complicated and compelling project United Properties has undertaken in our 100-plus year history, and one that we are very proud to begin moving forward."

United Properties has said the tower would have approximately 34 habitable floors with an additional mechanical floor, though city staff has declared the building as 37 stories. The RBC Gateway project will be the ninth-tallest Minneapolis building.

The RBC Gateway building will be about 1.2 million square feet including 531,000 square feet of office space. The Four Seasons Hotel will feature 222 rooms plus just-announced 31 fully serviced Four Seasons Private Residences.

The Four Seasons will be the metro area's first five-star hotel. The Four Seasons will feature a restaurant and bar, what United Properties is calling "one of the largest pool decks in the city" on the fourth floor, a spa complex and event spaces.

"Minneapolis is a booming corporate hub in the Midwest, and has a vibrant leisure, cultural and arts scene, and we look forward to creating a place for locals and visitors alike to come together while raising the standard of luxury and service in the city," said Bart Carnahan, Four Seasons' executive vice president of global business development and portfolio management.

The RBC Gateway project, which will rise on the site of the former Nicollet Hotel, has been envisioned as a marquee project for the city.

The Gateway project was originally supposed to begin construction three years ago but has faced multiple delays with design changes, partners backing out of the project and financing concerns.

Last summer, there were indications from United Properties that the tower might not include a hotel. At the beginning of 2019, city officials and United Properties hashed out disagreements on a sign for RBC at the top of the structure and other conditions that paved the way for the sale.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495 Twitter: @nicolenorfleet