A downtown Rochester parking lot destined to house a $38 million development was sold for $4.75 million recently.
First Broadway Rochester LLC, owned by the Opus Group, bought eight parcels totaling 1.3 acres at 402 First Ave. SW. First Broadway bought it from Urban on First LLC, which is owned by Rochester’s Titan Development.
That’s an open parking lot by the US Bank branch at First Avenue and Fourth Street Southwest. It is across First Avenue from the downtown Premier Bank branch.
Olmsted County estimates the market value of the eight parcels at $2.45 million for 2017-2018. AC Acquisitions, an offshoot of Titan Development, bought the land on Dec. 31, 2013, from the 1st National Bank of Rochester for $2.8 million. It transferred the ownership to Urban on 1st in September 2015.
Opus and Titan are partnering on a six-story, mixed-use complex being built on the site. Opus Design Build is the “design-builder” and Opus AE Group is the “interior designer, architect and structural engineer of record.” Titan is providing the construction management.
The project, currently known under its working name, Urban on 1st, will include 154 market-rate apartment units and 9,000-square-feet of retail space.
The complex’s first level amenities will include a gallery entryway, a main entry lobby, tenant storage as well as a dog wash, bike storage and resident parking. The second level will include a swimming pool, green roof space with seating, fire pit, club room and fitness center. Tenants will also have access to the sixth floor lounge, which is adjacent to the outdoor rooftop deck fitted out with a fire pit. Apartments will be a mix, including studios, penthouse units and furnished units.
The estimated timeline calls for the apartments and retail spots to be ready for tenants during the summer of 2019.
The development is one of four in the Destination Medical Center district approved for related tax-increment financing. It is slated to receive $3.8 million in TIF.
While Minneapolis developer Opus has worked on other Rochester projects, like Shoppes on Maine and Mayo Clinic’s nearby Opus Imaging Research Building, this new development is something different.
“We have been looking for the right housing site in Rochester for a number of years. We were very pleased to develop a partnership with Titan in Rochester, which opened up this opportunity,” said Opus Vice President and General Manager Matt Rauenhorst earlier this year.
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