Sherman Associates Acquires Full City Block for $400 Million Redevelopment
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 at 4:30AM
Delivering multifamily, retail, restaurant, office, and more along Washington Avenue
Sherman Associates has acquired a full city block at the southwest corner of South Washington Avenue and 3rd Avenue South (kitty-corner to Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot) for its next development project named Harmonia, located at 255 2nd Avenue South. Sherman’s concept includes three buildings that deliver a 10-story, mixed-income mid-rise apartment; a 20+ story, market-rate high-rise apartment; and a 25+ story, mixed-use high-rise building on the site.
Sherman’s vision for investing $400 million on the 2.43-acre block will provide further connection of the Mill District and the North Loop to the Central Business District. The Harmonia development will provide multifamily, retail, restaurant, and the potential for office, condominiums, or hotel to the block. The concept includes a feature restaurant plaza and amenity courtyard at the center of the three proposed buildings.
A vacant 550,000-square-foot office building currently on the site will be demolished to position the block for redevelopment. This represents approximately 10% of the vacant office space in the Central Business District.
Sherman plans to repurpose the existing underground foundation walls for the Harmonia development, reducing the environmental impact of site excavation for the new development’s underground parking requirements and providing almost 1,000 parking stalls.
“The Harmonia project will create a dynamic and interactive hub for people of all incomes to experience the vibrant center of downtown Minneapolis,” said Chris Sherman, president of Sherman Associates. “Between this project and our proposed Northstar East project, we are removing close to 1 million square feet of excess and underutilized office space.”
Construction on the three buildings is estimated to start in the fall of 2023, with estimated completion in early 2026. ESG Architecture & Design is the architect on the project. Sherman is renowned for transforming communities with its mixed-use developments, which deliver a variety of housing types along with retail, office, and hospitality amenities that stimulate healthy neighborhoods, and plans to do just that on this full city block.
The name Harmonia pays tribute to Harmonia Hall, a Victorian Gothic building that stood on a portion of the site from 1884 to 1962. Harmonia Hall was designed and occupied as an auditorium by the Harmonia Singing Society, an organization formed by Minneapolis’ German community, which hosted concerts, charity benefits, and cultural events until 1899. Over time, the building housed a theater, a business college, a state bank, a printer, a book bindery, a hotel, and other various commercial businesses before its demolition in 1962.
