Hot Property: Grand Central Lofts

Published May 2, 2005

Grand Central Lofts

4747 Central Av. NE.

Columbia Heights

Square feet: 523,000 (all phases)

Units: 88 (Phase I)

Type: Loft Condominiums (67 units), townhouses (21)

Cost: $62 million

Details: When the Kmart store in Columbia Heights closed in 2002 as part of that retailer's bankruptcy procedure, city officials decided that rather than try to find another "big box" to occupy the 12-acre parcel, they would join the trend of loft-condominium building in inner-ring Twin Cities suburbs.

The redevelopment of the Central Avenue NE. site into a mix of housing and retail reached a milestone last week when the Grand Central Lofts opened a model home in the project's still-uncompleted Phase One building.

Developer New Heights, an entity controlled by Columbia Heights-based builder Bruce Nedegaard, has set a Sept. 1 completion date for the 67-unit first building, one of three planned condominium structures at the Grand Central Lofts site at 4747 Central Av. NE., about a half-mile south of the intersection of Central and Interstate Hwy. 694.

Also under construction are the first of 21 townhouses. All told, the redevelopment will have 230 housing units and a minimum of 10,000 square feet of retail space. General contractor for the Grand Central Lofts is Frana & Sons; ESG Architects did the design work.

Like other such projects in St. Louis Park, Brooklyn Park and elsewhere, the target audience is a combination of aging locals who want to trade in their single-family homes for something that requires less upkeep and younger first-time home buyers who are looking for a loft lifestyle but can't afford property in the downtown areas.

Prices start at $189,000. Adding to the pitch is an effort to build a sense of community: The project will include a public swimming pool and community center aimed at helping to revitalize Central Avenue's role as "Main Street" for the suburb. Another project along those lines is a redevelopment effort at 39th and Central, where the city is attempting to renew the east side of the street.