More than $3 million in public assistance has helped to lure the Opus Group and Inland Development Partners to build an office warehouse on a former dump site... Read More >

Tom Shaver, a partner in Wayzata-based Inland Development Partners (IDP), is the winner of the 2018 NAIOP Minnesota President’s Award. It is NAIOP’s highest honor, and the winner is selected by chapter leaders from a field of candidates nominated by members. NAIOP said that Shaver’s development expertise, in a commercial real estate career that spans about 35 years, has translated into benefits for clients and the cities where the projects are located. “Shaver’s goals within the built environment stem from IDP’s mission of serving as stewards for clients and communities, and collaborating to provide the very best in real estate know-how and execution,” NAIOP Minnesota said in a statement announcing the award. The organization highlighted some of the major projects that Shaver worked on in the Twin Cities region. Those projects are: the redevelopment that will become Rice Creek Commons in Arden Hills; Excelsior Crossings, a 31-acre multi-use redevelopment in Hopkins; UnitedHealth Group’s 320,000-square-foot corporate campus in Minnetonka; and the Flying Cloud corporate campus, a 293,000-square-foot development in Eden Prairie. The President’s Award goes to a person who has displayed outstanding service to the industry as a founder, catalyst or promoter of the industry’s economic or professional growth. It also recognizes contributions to NAIOP and the broader community. IDP is involved in land development, asset repositioning and site redevelopment. Shaver, who promotes involvement and inclusivity, has been active within industry associations and the community. Shaver served as NAIOP Minnesota president in 2005, and he has served in many other leadership capacities within the organization. He’s mentored new entrants to the industry, generated program ideas for NAIOP and was a strong contributor to the organization’s strategic discussions. He also used his leadership skills and substantive expertise in service within the civic and business communities. He served on the board of directors of Klein Bank and chaired the city of Wayzata Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Other board service has included the Opus Foundation and Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners. Read full story >  

St. Louis Park-based Inland Development Partners in tandem with Kraus-Anderson Construction landed backing from the Richfield City Council for the Chamberlain Apartments this fall after meeting with neighbors of the project near 18th Avenue S. between 66th and 68th streets. Address: 18th Avenue E. between 66th and 68th streets, Richfield Type: Multifamily residential Units: 284 new, 33 rehabbed existing units Developers: Inland Development Partners, Kraus-Anderson Construction Architect: UrbanWorks Architecture Details: St. Louis Park-based Inland Development Partners in tandem with Kraus-Anderson Construction landed backing from the Richfield City Council for the Chamberlain Apartments this fall after meeting with neighbors of the project near 18th Avenue S. between 66th and 68th streets. Three buildings with 284 apartments are slated to be built starting in the spring. Read full article >

IDP Founding Partner begins role this month MINNEAPOLIS – Jan. 30, 2018 – NAIOP Minnesota, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, has named Inland Development Partner’s Steve Schwanke its 2018 Chapter President. Schwanke will build on recent successes to broaden and diversify membership and to refine and develop programs that appeal to and advance the goals of local NAIOP members. Schwanke is one of three founding partners at Inland Development Partners and has 30 years of industry experience. His focus is redevelopment and mixed-use projects with a particular emphasis on large-scale development and complicated redevelopment projects. “The NAIOP Minnesota chapter is among the association’s strongest and most active, and the appointment of Steve Schwanke as chapter president recognizes his leadership and the contributions he’s made to the development community in his local market,” said Thomas J. Bisacquino, president and CEO of NAIOP Corporate in Herndon, Virginia. “With 51 chapters across North America, NAIOP connects its members across a powerful network to provide advocacy, education and business opportunities that advance our member businesses.” NAIOP Minnesota’s efforts are focused on improving the professional lives of members by: Providing networking opportunities to help members to develop relationships leading to more productive and enjoyable careers Establishing educational opportunities through programming that allows members to broaden their knowledge and advance their interests Informing members about legislation that impacts commercial real estate and the Minnesota businesses that are its tenants “I’m honored to take on this role and plan to create layered and varied opportunities for our member to learn, grow and connect,” says Schwanke. Prior to joining IDP, Schwanke worked at Westwood Professional Services and RLK Incorporated. Schwanke is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business. For more information about IDP, please visit inlanddp.com. About Inland Development Partners Inland Development Partners is the culmination of the talents and track records of real estate professionals Bob Cunningham, Kent Carlson, Tom Shaver and Steve Schwanke. With a sheer enthusiasm for complex challenges, IDP transforms landscapes and communities through land development, site redevelopment and asset repositioning throughout the Twin Cities and the Upper Midwest. About NAIOP Since 1967, NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, is the leading organization for developers, owners and investors of office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate. NAIOP comprises 19,000+ members and provides strong advocacy, education and business opportunities through a powerful North American network.

Address: 18th Avenue E. between 66th and 68th streets, Richfield Type: Multifamily residential Units: 284 new, 33 rehabbed existing units Developers: Inland Development Partners, Kraus-Anderson Construction Architect: UrbanWorks Architecture Details: St. Louis Park-based Inland Development Partners in tandem with Kraus-Anderson Construction landed backing from the Richfield City Council for the Chamberlain Apartments this fall after meeting with neighbors of the project near 18th Avenue S. between 66th and 68th streets. Three buildings with 284 apartments are slated to be built starting in the spring. Read the full article here >

Cunningham will be responsible for business development and will help facilitate complex agreements involving multiple entities, managing the planning stages, real estate processes, site and environmental challenges, financial solutions and partnering with city and state stakeholders. Check out the profile on Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.  The full Press Release is below. MINNEAPOLIS – Oct. X, 2017 – Inland Development Partners (IDP) recently named long time Twin Cities developer Bob Cunningham as partner in the firm. Cunningham will be responsible for business development and brings 35 years of property development and redevelopment to the company. “Having an industry veteran responsible for a number of ground breaking public/private partnerships join our team will strengthen our offerings and broaden our expertise, to help us better serve our clients,” says Kent Carlson, IDP Partner. Before joining IDP, Cunningham was Principal at Melrose Company and TOLD Development Company where he was involved with all levels of development and operations of office, industrial, retail and multi-family development. Cunningham joins partners Kent Carlson, Tom Shaver and Steve Schwanke, who have a combined 100 years of development experience. IDP’s strengths in the industry are land development, asset repositioning and site redevelopment. Their forte is managing complex agreements involving multiple entities from beginning to end: managing the planning stages, real estate processes, site and environmental challenges, financial solutions and partnering with city and state stakeholders. Current IDP Projects include: The Chamberlain in Richfield Terrace Center in Robbinsdale Rice Creek Commons Retail/Office Development in Arden Hills Hamline Station on the Green Line in St. Paul HyVee in New Hope   Cunningham has an MBA from Drake University in Iowa and B.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. For more information about IDP, please visit inlanddp.com. About Inland Development Partners Inland Development Partners is the culmination of the talents and track records of real estate professionals Bob Cunningham, Kent Carlson, Tom Shaver and Steve Schwanke. With a sheer enthusiasm for complex challenges, IDP transforms landscapes and communities through land development, site redevelopment and asset repositioning throughout the Twin Cities and the Upper Midwest.

The idea of a huge second Amazon headquarters in the Twin Cities has “changed things quickly and dramatically” for the board in charge of the state’s largest development project. Louis Jambois, the former head of the St. Paul Port Authority who is negotiating a development deal for the 427-acre Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) site in Arden Hills, said that while existing plans are “not out the window,” the Amazon opportunity has “caused us to rethink the opportunities here.” With people all over North America salivating for a project promising 50,000 jobs, no one claimed that the bid will be anything but a long shot. Read the full story >

Development at the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant site in Arden Hills is poised for progress in 2017 as the vision to transform idle, polluted land into a vibrant new place to live and work continues to take shape. Among recent landmarks for the site — now known as Rice Creek Commons — are development-plan approvals by the Ramsey County Board and Arden Hills City Council. The 400-plus-acre project — on what was the largest contaminated site in the state — was considered too big and too risky for the private market. We weren’t alone on these pages in raising questions about the county adding economic development to its already long list of traditional responsibilities when the deal closed for its purchase of the site in 2013. Time and economic cycles will confirm if commissioners made the right choice. But, as development plays out over the decade to come, the potential upside is considerable. “When all is said and done, this property will generate between $10 million and $15 million in property taxes a year,” County Commissioner Blake Huffman, who represents the area, told us. He’s further confident the site will be the home to 3,000 to 4,000 “real jobs, permanent jobs.” Developer Tom Shaver put the jobs numbers even higher in a conversation last week. A “corporate campus” to take shape on 45 acres of the development, offering between 700,000 and 1.4 million square feet of space, would involve a projected 3,500 to 6,500 jobs “just in that one zone alone.” Shaver is with Inland Development Partners, which focuses on office, corporate and retail development. Read Full Article >

Real estate insiders on Tuesday agreed “the jury is still out” on whether the workforce of the future is driving a trend for companies to migrate back downtown. In January, TCF Bank completed its relocation of corporate employees to the Plymouth Corporate Center at 1405 Xenium Lane in Plymouth. About 1,700 staff previously scattered across seven different buildings across the metro — including the TCF Tower in downtown Minneapolis — made the move. (Staff photo: Bill Klotz) But two corporate real estate executives from TCF Bank and UnitedHealth Group, who served as panelists at the NAIOP Minnesota event in Golden Valley, provided first­person assessments of the advantages their companies have seen in setting up shop in the suburbs. They cited parking and opportunity for on­site growth as two major factors. TCF Bank recently completed its relocation of about 1,700 corporate employees from seven sites around the metro into the Plymouth Corporate Center along the southeast quadrant of Interstate 494 and County Road 6. A large percentage of that workforce worked for many years at the TCF Tower in downtown Minneapolis. But an internal survey of corporate employees before the company’s 2014 decision to move to Plymouth helped influence its site­selection process and redesign of the newly leased west metro office space, said Michelle Schmitt, vice president for corporate real estate at TCF Bank. “Management looked at the bigger picture for retaining and attracting talent,” said Schmitt. “In Plymouth Corporate Center we found that it offered the ability to not only combine employees from seven different buildings under one roof, but we could also bring different product types we have into one site — and that offers more opportunity for collaboration.” TCF has a 10­year lease for more than half the space in the two­story, 635,000­square­foot building at 1405 Xenium Lane. Originally constructed in 1974, the building was renovated last year for its new anchor tenant. Newly enhanced workspaces have increased efficiency and collaboration across business lines, Schmitt said. A similar idea was involved when UnitedHealth Group began designing its new Optum campus in Eden Prairie in 2012, said Restor Johnson, vice president of real estate services for the health care company. In 2015, UnitedHealth completed construction of the 15­story tower and two adjoining eight­story buildings on a campus that features 6,000 parking stalls for its Optum health services division employees. While that seems like a lot of office space and parking, UnitedHealth envisioned the $95.5 project with efficiency in mind, Johnson said. “If there was an ‘aha’ moment (with the Optum campus project) it has really just been the power of bringing people together in a contemporary working environment,” Johnson said. “And the impact that has had on the culture and productivity and energy level was something we just didn’t see before when we were in a number of buildings scattered throughout the Twin Cities.” The fact that the new campus is near one of the proposed light rail transit stations along the future Southwest line is a “bonus,” but didn’t make or break the site selection, Johnson said. “Many people are going to continue to drive in” to work, Johnson said. “The question of ‘where will they park, how much will it cost and who pays for it’ is probably more urgent for us than just the benefit — which is clear, there is no denying it — of being close to mass transit.” Despite the fact that UnitedHealth Group chose to build new for its Optum division, the rising cost of construction has driven more developers and owners to consider adaptive reuse of existing buildings, said Tom Shaver, of Inland Development Partners, who served as moderator. “We are seeing a lot of buildings being retrofitted for a different use, especially in places like the North Loop,” Shaver said. “It’s something that, given the cost of construction, has become a viable alternative.” But whether millennials and future generations of employees will be drawn to urban working environments over suburban locations has yet to be determined, said Vik Bangia, managing principal for Verum Consulting, also a panelist at the discussion. “The jury is still out on that,” Bangia said. “There’s certainly somewhat of a trend toward urban living and working.” Whether it’s a lasting trend, “I think we will see that play out over the next 10 to 15 years,” he added.

The 427-acre megaproject in Arden Hills appeared to be heading for approval Monday night after a prolonged and at times tense discussion. The town center project as proposed last summer by the master developer for the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant site, known as TCAAP, came in more urban in feel than city officials had expected, with buildings twice as high as the city’s five-story maximum. Council members struggled Monday night to reach a compromise on density that would allow for the unanimous 5-0 vote that Alatus LLC chief Bob Lux had said he wanted, out of concern for the aura around the project. If there’s a 4-1 vote, he said, “the headlines will be about the one, not the four, and it challenges us on the commercial side,” with potential clients leery of controversy. “Five to zero would help.” But, based on discussions Monday night, it looked as though 4-1 might well be the final tally. There’s a public hearing Dec. 7, and a final vote Dec. 19. A major topic of discussion was the discovery that the first-class system of parks being proposed for the project comes with a price tag of up to $19 million, which could end up costing each new living unit $11,000, city officials were told Monday. Check out the full story at Star Tribune >