Mortgage banking company Merchants Capital has provided more than $21.5 million in financing for a Minneapolis apartment complex currently under construction, The Bessemer at Seward Commons. The 30-month loan was secured on behalf of Bessemer Apartments, LLC, in partnership with co-developers Schafer Richardson, Seward Redesign and Noor Companies.
Located at 2200 Snelling Ave. in Minneapolis, The Bessemer at Seward Commons will consist of 128 housing units without income restrictions. The development will be transit-oriented, as it is situated directly adjacent to the METRO Blue Line and Hiawatha Bike Trail and one block from the Franklin Avenue Station with no required street crossings.
Building amenities will include a club room, fitness center, outdoor terrace, dog run, controlled entry, 24/7 package notification and storage system, bicycle storage and bicycle repair station, pet wash station and on-site management.
The Bessemer is part of a community-led, master-planned redevelopment referred to as Seward Commons that includes four separate housing developments with 260 rental units to accommodate a broad spectrum of incomes, as well as 33,000 square feet of small business incubator space for local business and arts organizations that reflect and serve South Minneapolis. These small businesses are primarily owned by women and/or Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
The Bessemer represents a significant achievement for the Seward community as it represents the first non-income-restricted housing project development in this neighborhood in more than 40 years. In the face of multiple unprecedented challenges, including the pandemic and the civil rights uprising in the immediate area, Seward Redesign and Schafer Richardson, in partnership with multiple public and private partners including Merchants Capital, were able to successfully bring the project to life in partnership with the broader Seward community.
As part of a redevelopment area with Noor Companies, this project utilizes Tax Increment Financing awarded by the City of Minneapolis, an estimated $5.4 million during a 26-year period. The development also received environmental clean-up funds from Hennepin County, Metropolitan Council and Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development as well as a Transit-Oriented Development loan from Hennepin County.
