Developer buys downtown St. Paul’s Landmark Towers, first step toward residential conversion – Twin Cities
In downtown St. Paul, Sherman Associates has acquired the 26-story Landmark Towers office building overlooking Rice Park, the first step toward a complete office-to-residential conversion that will create 187 new units of market-rate housing.
The Minneapolis-based developer, which has become a ubiquitous presence in St. Paul, plans to fill office and commercial space with residential luxury rentals, in step with a national trend of converting vacant office space into residential housing.
Sale of the 200,000-square-foot office building at 345 St. Peter St. was brokered by Transwestern Real Estate Services and its Capital Markets and Assets team, who announced the closing Wednesday. Sherman Associates is completing similar projects in the metro area, and acting as lead residential developer at the Heights, the former Hillcrest Golf Course on St. Paul’s East Side.
The city of St. Paul recently created a $21 million tax-increment financing district, with the goal of directing some $9 million from the district into the Landmark Towers project itself, including $300,000 for street beautification along Fourth and Market streets. Another $650,000 from the TIF proceeds would boost a citywide fund for affordable housing.
Built in the 1980s for the headquarters of the now-defunct American Hoist and Derrick Co., Landmark Towers is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its five top floors will remain residential condominiums.
