Kevin Reich, Executive Director MWMO, Artspace Senior Vice President for Properties Greg Handberg, Mayor Jacob Frey, Artspace Vice President Becky Carlson St. Clair, Artspace President Kelley Lindquist, Dan Miller from Capital One National Association,1st Ward Council Member Elliott Payne and Zack Avery, Hennepin County development team member, dug into a pile of dirt at the NKB Lofts groundbreaking celebration (Mark Peterson)
Artspace Projects, Inc., the non-profit owner and manager of the Northrup King Building complex, held a groundbreaking ceremony at the building on Thursday, Oct. 24, to celebrate the start of their new housing development.
Construction began in early September, with the goal of creating 84 “live/work” artist lofts in two of the northernmost buildings on the 13-acre campus, with a projected completion date of March 2026. Speakers at the event included Mayor Jacob Frey and 1st Ward City Council Member Elliott Payne, along with Artspace executives, financial partners and Kevin Reich, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) executive director.
Artspace’s Vice President of Properties Becky Carlson St. Clair said the project was the firm’s largest ever in total development costs, requiring more than 20 financing sources, which took more than four years to secure.
Frey praised Artspace for figuring out how to, “not just retain those 350 artists in this wonderful live/work space, but also add 84 units of affordable housing, 60 of which is 50% of the area median income and below. When you find the recipe to get stuff like that done, you benefit not just the artists that live here, that work here … but it’s awesome for the whole community.” He thanked Artspace, Hennepin County and the original partnership that helped to drive the project forward as well as then-council member Reich to build out the partnership and make the connection.
Payne said, “We don’t have the best arts district in the country just because of beautiful spaces like this … It’s because of the people that make this arts district work. It’s an ecosystem of not just the artists, but also the people who come and visit our art spaces. And it’s all of the industry that supports our working artists … and Northrup King has been kind of the beating heart of our arts district, and that has really grown beyond just the boundaries of the arts district.”
Artspace President Kelley Lindquist noted, “I dedicated much of my career to preserving and enhancing this city’s creative spirit, and the Northrup King stands as one of our finest treasures. Since Artspace acquired the Northrup King campus in 2019, we’ve been proud to align its future with our mission to preserve creative spaces.”
MWMO head Reich thanked Artspace for addressing the issue that 11 acres of the property had impervious surfaces that allowed untreated accumulating water to go directly to the Mississippi River. He noted that more than 2,600 pounds of sludge, along with chemicals such asphosphorus, will instead be going underground.
Dan Miller from Capital One National Association said, “This type of redevelopment is no small feat, but its impact can be significant, especially when demand for affordable housing is at an all-time high.”
Met Council planner Marcus Martin and Hennepin County’s Housing Economic Development team member Zach Avery praised the affordable housing aspect of the project. The Metropolitan Council provided significant financing for the project through the Metropolitan Livable Communities fund that includes funds for site contamination cleanup, interior abatement and site infrastructure.
The Northrup King building was built in 1917 and began as a factory to process and ship agricultural seeds; it was in business for nearly seven decades. In the late 1980s, the complex was sold to Jim Stanton of Shamrock Properties, and he and his daughter Debbie Woodward turned the building into one of the largest art centers in the country. In 2019, the property was bought by Artspace.
The housing units will be studios, 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom configurations. Asked about issues with the planning of a project of this scope, Carlson St. Clair said there were two challenges: The site’s industrial zoning allows housing, but the zoning was changed so it would be the same across the whole campus. A PUD (Planned Unit Development) application was submitted as traditional zoning doesn’t allow the setbacks needed on a campus with a mix of buildings took about a year. She said stormwater management on site needed work, and the redeveloped site will go above and beyond the stormwater requirements, thanks to funding from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.
The other challenge was designing with history in mind. The property, listed on the National Historic Register, allows access to historic tax credits but presents challenges to the design to preserve the historic buildings and site. “There were few surprises during the planning process, but mostly a lot of hard work,” said Carlson St. Clair.