Minneapolis developers pitch midsize rental projects.

Byline: Brian Johnson

A flurry of not-so-big apartment projects is coming to Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Planning Commission is set to review plans for six small to midsize residential developments that will bring a combined 228 market-rate apartments to the city, with individual projects ranging from 10 to 56 units.

Minneapolis-based North Bay Cos., working with DJR Architecture of Minneapolis, is pitching the projects. Plans include a 56-unit building at 1101 Hennepin Ave. E. in the Como Neighborhood and a 51-unit building at 815 and 821 Sixth Ave. SE in the Marcy Holmes Neighborhood.

That same team wants to build a 51-unit complex at 2637 First Ave. S. and 2645 First Ave. S. in the Whittier Neighborhood; a 48-unit building at 809 E. Lake St.; a 10-unit townhome project at 2733 Park Ave. S.; and a cluster development with a total of 12 units in two buildings at 934 and 938 15th Ave. SE in the Como Neighborhood.

All six are up for review at the Nov. 13 Planning Commission meeting. The commission will consider requests that include rezoning, conditional use permits and variances for each of the projects.

A North Bay representative said Friday that the company was not talking to reporters about the plans.

Amanda Pederson, project architect with DJR, said the goal is to move forward "fairly quickly" with the projects, though some may take longer than others. The project at 809 E. Lake St. could be one of the first projects out of the gate.

From a macro perspective, the Twin Cities area has become a hot region for residential developments that land somewhere between suburban-style townhomes and urban high-rises.

Among projects with between 17 and 60 units, builders have pulled 13 permits for 561 units in the 13-county metro area so far this year, according to the Keystone Report. Permits in that category are up 8 percent, and units are up 13 percent from last year.

Minneapolis hasn't specifically tracked data about growth in midsize apartment projects, but there appears to be a "fairly significant increase" among projects with 10 to 50 units the last couple of years, said Jason Wittenberg, the city's planning manager.

One possible driver is a city policy enacted in 2015 that eases parking requirements for residential developments in areas served by high-frequency transit, Wittenberg said.

Other factors include a dwindling supply of sites suitable for large-scale developments, ease of land assembly, and strong demand in general for apartments...

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