Housing makes a splash in ’19
Finance & Commerce | William Morris | January 2, 2020
Some multifamily housing projects are part of a larger mixed-use development that will define neighborhoods or entire communities for decades to come. Some take advantage of challenging properties and their surrounding environment, natural and manmade, in creative and intriguing ways. Some are just really, really big.
The decade closed out with another busy year for Twin Cities apartment (and occasionally condominium) developers. The following 10 projects, each for its own reasons, are among the most interesting or significant developments we learned about in 2019. Some remain on the drawing board, while others are well into entitlements or have even begun construction. Each has the potential to reshape the housing market and future direction of its corner of the metro.
Name: Waterford Bay
Developer: Stoneleigh Cos.
Address: 380 Randolph Ave., St. Paul
Unit count: 242
Cost: $60 million
Description: Waterford Bay is the first Minnesota project for Chicago-based Stoneleigh Cos., and the company picked a challenging site: the former Island Station power plant on north bank of the Mississippi River. Plans call for 242 mostly studio and one-bedroom apartments as well as trail connections and even a possible kayak landing to take advantage of the riverfront. Construction began in November, with Golden Valley-based Benson-Orth as contractor, and Stoneleigh hopes to have foundation work done by March and finish construction in late 2021.