By Burl Gilyard
Over the last few years, it was common to see aging commercial buildings getting converted into residential condos. But today the condo market has cooled, and this calls for something a little different.
Now on Franklin Avenue in south Minneapolis, a former residential brownstone is being converted – into new office space.
Developer Jason Geschwind’s Shane, LLC, bought the building in 2003 for one dollar from the city of Minneapolis. Hennepin County kicked in $111,000 for environmental remediation. Geschwind was going to go with a condo conversion project until the market winds shifted.
“We had plans to make it into condos, but since the condo market has dried up now we decided to switch to commercial,” Geschwind said.
“It really made sense to us because there’s a deficit of office space in that area. We think that finally there’s a need for some office space there. We’ve had interest already,” Geschwind said.
When the four-story Franklin Brownstone Offices, at 628 East Franklin Ave., is completed by the end of the year, it will offer about 15,400 square feet of space. A new elevator is being put into the building as part of an addition on the back of the building. The project will offer free off-street parking. While the building is not in downtown, it’s mere minutes away. Gross rental rates are being quoted at $23 per square foot.
The vintage building dates to 1904 but has been vacant since 1997. The building is just east of the intersection of Franklin and Portland Avenues where the nonprofit Central Community Housing Trust (CCHT) is redeveloping all four corners into housing.****
Brokers Eric Batiza and Brian Doyle of Welsh Companies are handling the marketing of the property. Batiza notes that the building offers an abundance of natural light and exposed brick.
Batiza thinks that the space will appeal to firms such as architecture, design and marketing companies.
“We’re targeting creative space users,” Batiza said. “It’s going to be brownstone space similar to what you see in the warehouse district. We’re very flexible on floor plans.”
“It’s not quite as sterile as some of the other buildings,” Geschwind said.
Batiza also handles the Ancient Traders Market building, which is a few blocks to the east along Franklin Ave. He often fields calls from potential tenants looking for office space in the area. “It’s basically full, we’ve seen a lot of demand for that,” Batiza said of the Ancient Traders Market.
Geschwind puts the project budget for the rehab at $2.6 million. He plans to move into the building himself. Gesco Construction, Inc., and the affiliated Access Realty, LLC, will both office in the basement of the building. Geschwind is CEO of Gesco and chief manager of Access Realty.
“I have lived and worked in Minneapolis my whole life and stayed in the neighborhood and tried to make a difference,” Geschwind said. “There seems to be a need and we’re confident we can fill it.”
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**** The Franklin-Portland Gateway development is a partnership between Central Community Housing Trust and Hope Community. Read more
