VOLUME 31, NUMBER 09
©2015 Law Bulletin Publishing Co.
September 2015
Former Macy’s in Saint Paul to become training home to NHL’s Minnesota Wild? By Dan Rafter, Editor
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he former Macy's building in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, has been one of the more conspicuous empty spaces in the booming Twin Cities market. Those days, though, are coming to an end. The former department store will soon become a key mixed-use development for downtown Saint Paul. And Excelsior, Minnesota-based Oppidan Investment Company will play a key role in making this happen as the project's developer.
Oppidan is teaming with the Saint Paul Port Authority to take on the $60 million 515,000-square-foot building project. Construction on the new mixeduse project -- which will be located in a block bounded by Wabasha, Cedar, Sixth and Seventh streets -- is expected to begin in the spring of 2016. Oppidan will own 90 percent of the redeveloped building. Construction crews will not demolish the former department store, but will instead “re-skin” it, transforming it into a building with a modern look. "This is such a unique project," said Paul Tucci, vice president of development with Oppidan. "We have been asked what qualifies us over others to do Macy’s to page 14
Industrial market strong in Twin Cities: Minneapolis, St. Paul sees record amount of new construction By Dan Rafter, Editor
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evelopers in the Twin Cities are building new industrial facilities – many of them speculative – at a record-setting pace. Just ask John Ryden, a senior vice president and
industrial specialist with the Minneapolis office of CBRE. He’ll tell you that the Minneapolis/St. Paul industrial market is busier than it’s ever been. The Twin Cities industrial market is on track to see 5.1 million square feet of new construction this year, Ryden said. About half of this is spec construction, he said. “We have very strong activity in this market today,”
Ryden said. “In terms of net absorption and new construction, we are seeing record-setting activity. It’s nice to see, and it’s nice to be a part of it.” Ryden said that the Twin Cities market had a net absorption of 2.3 million square feet of industrial space in the first half of the year. In 2013 and 2014, the same Industrial to page 14