The $100 million Expo luxury apartment complex will rise on this property along University Avenue between Second and Third avenues southeast in the St. Anthony Falls Historic District in downtown Minneapolis. (File photo: Bill Klotz)
Bloomington-based Doran Cos. and CSM Corp. of Minneapolis have broken ground on their latest entry into the high-end residential market in downtown Minneapolis, a $100 million luxury apartment project within the St. Anthony Falls Historic District.
Known as the “Expo,” the project will bring 368 dwelling units to an existing surface parking site along University Avenue between Second and Third avenues southeast, the companies said Tuesday. Expo is a nod to the former Industrial Exhibition Hall that used to be near the site.
Kelly Doran, founder of Doran Cos., said in an interview Tuesday that construction crews have mobilized on the site. Concrete barriers and fencing are going up, and workers will soon begin asphalt removal and pile-driving, he said.
Designed by Minneapolis-based DLR Group, the complex will peak at a height of 25 stories and include 60,000 square feet of amenities ranging from a putting green and outdoor bocce ball area to entertainment suites and a state-of-the-art fitness center.
Doran said the building will offer “magnificent views” of the downtown skyline, and will be a short walk from the Mississippi River and other attractions. Monthly rents will range from $1,000 to $10,000, and units will be between 500 and 3,000 square feet in size, he said.
The project includes 199 apartments in a 25-story post-tensioned, concrete-framed high-rise structure. A brick-clad lower-level building will hold another 157 apartments and 12 street-level townhomes.
Anne Behrendt, chief operating officer of Doran Cos., said in a press release that the project will create “hundreds of local jobs” during the construction phase.
Doran previously dove into the downtown Minneapolis luxury apartment market with the ambitious Mill & Main, a 338-unit 579,000-square-foot complex at 501 Main St. SE. The new building will rise on a site two blocks northwest of Mill & Main.
Finance & Commerce reported in April 2017 that Doran and CSM closed on a $15.8 million deal to buy 8.71 acres for the Expo project at the southeast corner of Second Avenue Southeast and University Avenue Southeast. General Mills was the seller.
The Expo is scheduled for completion in early summer of 2020.
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