LMC design picked for Lyndale site.

Byline: Matt M. Johnson

The northwest corner of Franklin and Lyndale avenues has attracted a proposal for an eight-story apartment block seven months after the owner asked for developers' ideas for the site.

LMC, a subsidiary of Miami-based Lennar, is proposing to build 241 market-rate apartments and 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail space on the 2.5 acre site at 1936 Lyndale Ave. S., according to plans filed with the city of Minneapolis. The Planning Commission's Committee of the Whole will review the project at its Oct. 24 meeting.

Property owner Vision Loss Resources (VLR) operates its social services and office functions out of a 38,000-square-foot building on the property, but wants to sell the property and consolidate its operations at another location.

VLR had received a number of unsolicited offers over the years from potential buyers interested in redeveloping the property, according to Finance & Commerce archives. The company has owned the property since the 1940s.

VLR issued a request for redevelopment proposals for the property in March. VLR and the Twin Cities office of Cushman & Wakefield, which did market consulting for the property, issued potential concept designs for the site, including one showing a 20-story apartment tower. Lennar's winning RFP response was one of a number of developers to submit a proposal to VLR, said John Breitinger, a Cushman & Wakefield executive director.

"We had a number of really good proposals," he said in a Friday interview.

The design Lennar is proposing is not a tower, but is still double the height allowed for the site. The apartments would include a second-floor amenity deck with an outdoor pool and a grilling area, and the building would have 287 indoor parking stalls. Third-level apartments would have access to two large terrace areas built atop second-floor indoor amenities, plans show. The building would also have a rooftop patio.

The commercial space would be located along Lyndale Avenue and could be split into three retail bays.

The building will appear to be two distinct pieces, with one at the corner of Lyndale and Franklin to be clad in brick to match older, 20th century buildings nearby, according to a project description submitted to the city by Minneapolis-based ESG Architects. LMC did not respond immediately on Friday to a request to comment on the project.

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