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©2021 Real Estate Publishing Corporation September 2021 • VOL. 37 NO. 4
A sign of hope? Crystal Court renovations evidence that corporations still believe in downtown Minneapolis By Dan Rafter, Editor
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or nearly five decades, the Crystal Court in the IDS Center has provided an oasis of trees in the middle of downtown Minneapolis. In November of last year, the Crystal Court was closed for a $5 million renovation, with the urban park inside the 57story tower reopening in late July.
And less than two months after the court’s reopening? Those who worked on the project have already seen a difference in how people are interacting with the space. “Since we’ve taken down the barriers, I’ve been watching how people are using the space,” said Deb Kolar, general manager at Accesso Partners, owner of the IDS Center.
“It is so great to see people having a quick cup of coffee, sitting on a Zoom call or having a meeting and using the space the way we had envisioned it. I think the renovation has made Crystal Court more welcoming for everyone.” CRYSTAL COURT (continued on page 31)
Still chasing the problem: Twin Cities still short of affordable multifamily developments By Dan Rafter, Editor
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he multifamily market has remained strong throughout the pandemic, even during the worst days of COVID-19. But that doesn’t mean that this sector doesn’t face challenges. Most notably, cities across the country – including Minneapolis and St. Paul – still face major shortfalls in the amount of affordable multifamily units available to renters with lower incomes. Most of the new product that is hitting the market today? It’s higher end, with rents that are too high for many renters.
How to fix this problem? How to add more affordable units to the Twin Cities market? We recently spoke with Thomas O’Neil, vice president of market development with the Minneapolis office of Colliers Mortgage, about the demand for affordable multifamily housing in the Twin Cities and the steps that developers and government bodies can do to bring more lower-cost units to the area.
How much of a demand is there for affordable apartment units in the Twin Cities market? And how much of a shortage are there of these lower-cost units? Thomas O’Neil: There is a very significant demand for affordable housing, and we are producing nowhere near enough affordable units each year to meet this demand. We do a lot of research at Colliers on this topic. We look HOUSING (continued on page 21