Ryan Companies US on Feb. 11 completed its key purchase of five blocks of land from the Star Tribune Co. The land will become an important part of Ryan Cos.’ $400 million Downtown East mixed-use project.
The Downtown East project — designed to serve as a destination district surrounding the new Minnesota Vikings football stadium — is a mixed-use project that will include an urban park that will occupy almost two full blocks. Ryan will also build a 1,610-stall parking ramp on an additional block of the project.
“Closing on the land purchase is an extremely significant milestone for our proposed Downtown East project,” said Pat Ryan, Ryan’s president and chief executive officer, in a written statement. “We’re excited to be moving forward with a project that will transform a part of downtown.”
Ryan and partner Wells Fargo are working together to finalize their plans for the development and to acquire building permits and other approvals. The goal is to break ground on Downtown East in May of 2014. The entire first phase of the project is scheduled for completion in the middle of 2016.
The first phase of Ryan’s project will include about 1.2 million square feet of office space in two towers, which will be owned by Wells Fargo Bank; about 200 market-rate apartment units in three buildings; underground parking for the residential project that will accommodate about 230 vehicles; a six-level parking ramp with about 1,610 parking spaces; a two-block urban park that will connect the new Vikings stadium to downtown Minneapolis; and a set of four sky bridges and internal skyways.
“Many project stakeholders have collaborated to help us achieve today’s important milestone,” said Rick Collins, Ryan’s vice president of development, in a written statement.
