Request for Committee Action

2017-00838 - Development rights for the Alden Smith House: 1403 Harmon Place, 45 Spruce Place, and 1400 Yale Place  On August 17, 2017, the City Council passed a Resolution approving the sale of property at 1403 Harmon Place, 45 Spruce Place, and 1400 Yale Place for a purchase price of $1.00 to W + Noordijk, LLC, or an affiliated entity, for development of a multi-family housing development, via a pass through sale with the State of Minnesota and authorized appropriate City officials to enter into a redevelopment contract and related documents in accordance with the terms described.

2017-00981 - Land sale: Alden Smith House, 1403 Harmon Place, 45 Spruce Place and 1400 Yale Place   On June 30, 2017, the City Council authorized staff to acquire the subject property from the State of Minnesota and to negotiate exclusively with W + Noordijk, LLC on the future sale and redevelopment of 1403 Harmon Place, 45 Spruce Place, and 1400 Yale Place through December 31, 2017. 

The State of Minnesota has owned the historic Alden Smith House on the Minneapolis Community Technical College (Minneapolis College) campus since 1996. In 2016, Minneapolis College asked the City to assist with a pass-through sale of the Smith House parcel (1403 Harmon Place) and two adjacent parcels (45 Spruce Place and 1400 Yale Place) to a single buyer to facilitate the rehabilitation of the historic mansion. The City agreed. As a locally designated landmark, the City wants to ensure the long-term preservation of the Alden H. Smith House’s historic significance and integrity.

On June 30, 2017, the City Council authorized staff to acquire the subject properties from the State and negotiate exclusively with the W + Noordijk, LLC development team on the future sale and redevelopment of the properties. After negotiations between staff and W + Noordijk, LLC, on August 17, 2017, the City Council approved the sale of the properties to W + Noordijk, LLC with specific development terms. Those terms were incorporated into the Redevelopment Contract, dated November 30, 2017 and included a Closing Date by February 18, 2019.

Over the past thirteen months, W + Noordijk has made significant progress working towards closing on the purchase of the properties. They added a partner and development expertise to their team, received preliminary approval from their lender for a first mortgage, and selected a general contractor. Working with their architectural team, the project also received all required approvals from the Minneapolis Planning Commission and Heritage Preservation Commission. They are on their way to closing on the project and starting construction; however, there is an outstanding issue that requires additional time to resolve.

There are two electrical transformers for the project: a new transformer for the Smith House project and the relocation of an existing transformer that serves the Minneapolis College campus. There are siting issues related to both transformers that are still being resolved. Minneapolis College, the W + Noordijk, LLC development team, and Xcel Energy are working together to site the two transformers in locations that meet the needs of all stakeholders and the City’s regulatory requirements. Staff believes that an additional ninety days is a reasonable request and will provide sufficient time to complete the additional work for siting the transformers, extending the Closing Date from February 18, 2019 to May 18, 2019.

In addition to the Redevelopment Contract with W + Noordijk, LLC, the City of Minneapolis also has a Purchase Agreement with the State of Minnesota to purchase the properties. The State agrees that the 90-day extension for closing is warranted, and they are willing to extend the Closing Date in the Purchase Agreement to ensure the City is able to maintain a same day closing on the City’s purchase of the properties from the State and the City’s sale of the properties to W + Noordijk, LLC. City staff is working with Minneapolis College to execute an Amendment to the Purchase Agreement to extend our purchase Closing Date.