Hennepin County plans to convert the former luMinn Hotel in downtown Minneapolis into a housing property for people who make below 30% of the area median income.
Crews will soon start work to convert the former hotel’s 55 rooms into single-room, independent-living units, which it hopes to open by the end of the year. The renovation is part of a larger initiative by the county to create more than 170 independent-living units across five county-owned properties, said Julia Welle Ayres, the county’s director of housing development and finance.
The five-story building was constructed in 1914 and was known as the Federal Plaza Building – a name the county plans on using for the new project. The building was later used as a charter school and office space. Work began in 2015 to turn the building into the luMinn boutique hotel. The luMinn’s rooms were constructed for extended-stay visitors and opened in 2017.
Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority acquired the property, at 219 S. Fourth St., for $12 million in late 2020. It used the property as a shelter for Covid-positive people who were without homes.
Work will start on the Federal Plaza conversion “any day now,” Welle Ayres said. They’re using the floor plates of the hotel rooms, which already have kitchenettes and bathrooms in them. Crews will also add a new HVAC system to the building, check for code compliance and make small updates to ensure the building is comfortable for residents.
The county hasn’t selected an operator for the building yet, Welle Ayres said.
Hennepin County presented its project to the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association last week. In its presentation, the county noted it would seek two variances: To allow smaller unit sizes than typically allowed, and to allow bicycle parking. The downtown group’s land use committee approved issuing a letter of support for the project.
The county owns four other properties that are slated for independent-living use, according to Welle Ayres:
© 2022 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated January 1, 2021) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated July 1, 2022). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American City Business Journals.