Developers proposing a 190-unit six-story apartment building for the northwest corner of Lowry Avenue and Second Street NE promised neighbors an injection of jobs and residents that they hope nearby restaurants – existing and planned – would appreciate.
Drew Levin represented Perkins Levin Development, Joe Conway is the architect from Doran Company. They met by Zoom with the board of Marshall Terrace Neighborhood Organization Tuesday, Jan. 5.
They talked about architecture, unit descriptions and rents (all in excess of $1,000 per month with 2-bedrooms topping out below $2,000 per month), and parking (150 spots, all in an enclosed ramp). They would commission local artists annually to paint public art on exterior concrete walls.
The building would take up the entire six-lot footprint of the two current properties, 125 Lowry Ave. NE and 2512 Second St. NE. Roof water runoff management was not discussed. The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which received and filed their initial plan, requested they add windows to break up the largely blank walls that would face the rest of the industrial neighborhood.
The project seeks a change from industrial to residential zoning. There are no other asks from the city, no grants sought. They said they would take resident suggestions, feedback from a meeting with Council Member Kevin Reich, meet with the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District and Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, and then revise their plan before re-submitting it to the city.
Neighbors asked questions about security, environmental conscience, and expressed a desire to see some community-accessible space such as retail incorporated into the project. The plan calls for common space, co-working and workout space on the first floor, built such that it could be converted if the market for commercial space improves.
Reich told the Northeaster he had a brief conversation with the developers and said he was looking forward to “workshop what might be codified” anticipating the city’s new zoning code in line with the 2040 Plan.
Especially on the issue of space that promotes community, he said in Northeast and the Arts District it’s often the “production spaces” that function similar to a coffee shop in creating “third place activity,” places where people talk with others they might not have thought to engage. Reich said he hopes the developers will think beyond formulas their investors currently understand.
To questions about the high water table and flooding in the area the developers said they would like to put their parking ramp above ground, which would then give some common spaces two stories of glass facing Lowry. Preliminary tests show the water at 12 to 20 feet under the surface.
They promised security cameras on the perimeter, and commented that generally with crime on the rise people are more apt to pay for indoor parking – though they haven’t set a price for their parking yet. Levin said he has participated in crime-stopping efforts in Uptown, where “when you start catching people, they move elsewhere.”
While they said they will try to achieve best practices from LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) with high insulation values and high energy saving mechanical and electrical components, they did not commit to entering LEED’s formal program. They plan to stub in conduit for potential future solar power.
The neighbors seemed friendly to the project but did not take a vote.