The Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission last week approved a mixed-use development that is planned for the North Loop and will include offices, a parking garage and "micro" apartments.
United Properties plans to erect a 10-story office structure and an apartment building that would wrap around a separate seven-level parking garage atop of a surface lot in the middle of the block at 729 Washington Ave. N and 728 Third St. N. The commercial building is planned to have ground floor retail as well as offices. The other structure will have retail, 44 apartments, which will be about 400 square feet each.
Earlier this fall, developers changed the design by reducing the building's height by one floor and adding a rooftop deck for residents.
Developers were awarded a certificate of appropriateness at the Dec. 13 meeting after commissioners voted 4 to 1. It still needs approval by the city's planning commission.
Some residents had opposed the development and said it did not meet historic guidelines. Last month, the Neighbors for North Loop Livability collected more than 1,000 online signatures from people who opposed the height and scale of the project.
Minneapolis marketing firm Ovative/group announced Wednesday that it plans to more than double its staff and move from the nearby Loose-Wiles Building to United Properties' new office building in 2018.
