The Terrace Center on Bottineau Boulevard in Robbinsdale is a hub of activity with a thriving HyVee store, Starbucks, a DaVita Dialysis location and a North Memorial business office where 150 full time staffers work and provide home health services. From the early morning hours until late at night, the area reflects the community’s busy lifestyle.

But it wasn’t always that way.

For over a decade, blighted buildings and an aging and empty movie theatre sat at the location. The area is right next to the city of Minneapolis, making it Robbinsdale’s front door, and too important of a location to lie dormant. The Mayor had long wanted to redevelop it, but too many issues surrounded the property, including environmental problems, legal matters and residents divided over what to do with it.

The region needed a fresh start. Inland Development Partners worked with the City of Robbinsdale and the various stakeholders to determine a solution that would upgrade the area and bring new life and new opportunities to the community.

Creative Solutions

The project presented several obstacles that many didn’t anticipate. There were people who wanted to save the old movie theatre, a congested intersection that needed reconfiguring, city, county and private interests to satisfy, and a contaminated site requiring environmental mitigation.

Kent Carlson and Steve Schwanke of IDP stepped in, formed a team, and went to work to create a solution that would work for everyone.

First, IDP managed the environmental cleanup and grant solicitation processes. They vacated a right of way and worked with the county to design a new intersection for proper flow in and out of the area. They secured grants and other funding and handled legal matters that arose during the process. They invited HyVee to anchor the space and worked with North Memorial Health to refurbish its existing location and DaVita Dialysis to design and develop medical office space that would create the most productive workspace to provide the best customer care, all while keeping a number of jobs in Robbinsdale.

Regular meetings ensured clear communication and shared ideas for solutions.

“This was truly a private/public partnership that required creativity and compromise,” says Kent Carlson, IDP Partner and Developer on the project.

The new multi-use site now fulfills the community’s needs and support Robbinsdale’s expanding growth. Residential buildings, restaurants, and shops have sprouted throughout the community and the Terrace Center provides groceries, gas, a coffee shop and a medical center for the neighborhood.

“IDP effectively and efficiently communicated with the various parties involved to negotiate terms and conditions that benefitted our city,” explains Robbinsdale Mayor Regan Murphy.

“They managed the entire process and went above and beyond to help us give the area the facelift it so desperately needed.”

“IDP was the hub of the wheel,” agrees Marcia Glick, Robbinsdale City Manager.

“They connected all of the players, assured good communications, and saw the process through from conception to completion.”

Phase Two: Market-Rate Housing

IDP had further development plans in Robbinsdale. Just a block away they acquired a property at 3600 France Avenue North, which they are currently redeveloping into Parker Station Flats, a 198-unit multi-family apartment building, named after the city’s original railway station.

Parker Station Flats is a Class A apartment complex that featuring luxury units with premium finishes, fitness center, yoga room, an outdoor pool and fire pit, and underground parking – all within walking distance to trails and nearby Lakeview Terrace Park, as well as great restaurants and retail in Robbinsdale. It’s the first market-rate rental housing in the city since the 1960’s.

Part of the project included responsibly cleaning up soil contamination on the existing 2.5-acre site. IDP secured grants from Hennepin County, the Metropolitan Council and the Department of Economic Development, specifically to mitigate the cost.

The Parker Station Flats development team includes UrbanWorks Architecture, Weis Builders as General Contractor, Westwood Professional Services, and finance, legal and management expertise by Dougherty Mortgage, Fredrickson & Byron and StuartCo, respectively.

Parker Station Flats management plans to welcome new residents by the spring of 2021.

“Both the Terrace Center and Parker Station Flats provide new energy, activity and a tax base in a previously blighted area,” explains Steve Schwanke, IDP Partner.

“This entire area is vastly improved and we’re ready to welcome new residents to the area, knowing they have great places to live, shop and work,” Mayor Murphy says.