Prices start at $900,000 for units in Eleven tower
By: Burl Gilyard, Twin Cities Business Magazine
Posted: August 1, 2019
Not just anyone can walk into the sales center for the planned Eleven luxury condo tower: You have to know somebody.
“We’re marketing very privately,” said veteran realtor John Wanninger of WMG Partners at Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty, which is leading the sales effort. “It’s not in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), as an example. It’s word of mouth, networking, friends of friends.”
The project is being developed by Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. US Inc. and Edina-based Arcadia LLC, a firm led by Luigi Bernardi. New York-based Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA), an internationally acclaimed design firm, is the project’s architect of record. The building will include 118 condo units and 17 penthouses.
Wanninger and Mike Ryan, president of Ryan Cos.’ North Region, led a small, invite-only media tour of the sales center on Wednesday.
The sales center is on the second floor of the Millwright building in downtown Minneapolis, home to Ryan Cos.’ headquarters. The first thing you see walking into the space is large model of the 41-story tower. Real estate marketing technology allows prospective buyers a chance to see the view that they would have from their chosen unit projected on a screen in the sales center.
From there, visitors are led through a series of rooms – a living room, a spacious bathroom, a kitchen – which are fully built-out and furnished to give would-be buyers a sense of what it will feel like inside Eleven once it’s built.
Many project details remain guarded secrets.
How expensive are units in Eleven? Prices start at $900,000. How much does the two-level penthouse unit at the top of the tower cost? No comment.
How many units have been sold so far? No comment. “We’re really happy with our sales,” said Wanninger.
What’s the total project budget? No comment.
When will the project break ground? “Soon,” said Ryan.
“Principals from both firms are going to be residents in here,” said Ryan, referring to executives from Ryan Cos. and Arcadia.
Ryan said that they hope to announce a restaurant in the ground-floor retail space soon.
Do the developers have a letter of intent signed with a restaurant tenant? “No comment,” said Ryan.
The sales center itself cost $1.5 million to build – pricier than the building’s lowest-priced condos.
The Eleven site is currently home to the surface parking lot for the Padilla public relations firm in the Mill District of downtown Minneapolis overlooking the Mississippi River. The name “Eleven” was drawn from its location along 11th Avenue South.
Wanninger said that the air rights above the Padilla building have been assigned to the future homeowners. That prevents another developer from tearing down the Padilla building to build another tall tower. “Those magnificent views are protected,” said Wanninger.
The idea for creating the sales center emerged from visiting projects in other cities.
“Our team toured probably 30 luxury condo buildings all over North America: New York, Chicago, Vancouver, Toronto, Los Angeles. We stole a lot of great ideas from the best of the best,” said Wanninger.
Ryan said that it’s often business as usual in those markets to build out elaborate sales centers but acknowledged, “it’s very uncommon for this market.”
The project plans were first floated in the spring of 2018. Ryan said that Eleven is slated for completion in late 2021.
In late June, developers announced that they secured project financing and called it “the largest construction loan ever secured for a condominium project in the state of Minnesota.”
How large was the loan? No comment.
Historically, developers have had to secure a certain percentage of pre-sales, such as 50 percent, before they could secure financing.
“We’ve got some restrictions on how we categorize it from our lenders, but what I can tell you is that our loans are approved,” said Ryan.
To view more renderings of the ELEVEN condo tower in Minneapolis, check out John Wanninger’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
ELEVEN condos are marketed exclusively by WMG Partners, John Wanninger, Kevin Mullen and Ben Ganje.