Chris teigen
Vice President, Architecture
Ryan a+e
Several years after the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Center for Minneapolis and its twin city of Sant Pau look towards a future that probably includes older offices construction conversions in residential structures.
Teigen says it is fantastic to see more employees who return to work in the office spaces of the Minneapolis Center, but he acknowledges that there are many vacant or underused space spaces.
“Many people are seeing what will happen to these properties,” he says.
It is not uncommon for the center’s offices owners to be reflecting on how to better use their properties. The office vacancy rate at the Minneapolis Center is 28.7%, compared to 23.3% of the largest Midwest and 19.5% national, according to the firm of real estate services Cushman Wakefield.
In September 2024, the City Council of Minneapolis approved an ordinance to facilitate the conversion of office spaces underused into homes. The Ordinance aims to streamline the process by requiring an administrative review of the proposals instead of the approval of the planning commission, reducing the required traffic studies and stopping for five years a requirement to include affordable housing units in conversions of 50 or more units.
St. Paul also pays attention to the adaptive reuse of buildings. The St. Paul Downtown Alliance recently evaluated the compatibility of 20 commercial properties as office conversions at residence. Ten buildings received a compatibility score of more than 80% or higher, which made them strong candidates for a successful conversion.
The result of Ryan A+E, which is part of Ryan Cos., Has been more queries about what to do with the branched offices.
“We have had several owners to seek advice on residential conversions or other ways to reposition the office space,” says Teigen.
Ryan A+E also participates in bringing new residential structures to the center of Minneapolis. He designed 4th and Park, a 25 -story residential tower with 350 rental units that opened in 2024.
The project is the most prominent in a multifamily housing market that otherwise struggles.
According to data from the North – American Housing and Urban Development Department, the Minneapolis – St. The Paul Metro area issued about 15,500 multi -family permits by 2022, but this number decreased to about 5,000 in 2023, with a number even less issued in 2024.
“At some point, the multifamily housing market will bounce.”
—Chris teigen, vice president, architecture, ryan a+e
A decrease in the multifamily market is not unique in Minneapolis or St. Paul.
“Some of the demographic changes we see, along with the changes in the place and operation of the people, are in parallel with national trends,” says Teigen, but says that there is another concern related to the impact of underused buildings.
“There is a lot of carbon embodied in underused buildings, so there is also an environmental impact to consider. The two cities have the opportunity to be a growth model that includes reflective reuse in addition to the new development,” he says.
Teigen says that wearing a new home of various types is crucial for the vitality of the region.
“Minneapolis and the area of larger twin cities will need a mix of urban and suburban growth to continue to be a great place to live and attract talent,” he says. But he believes that the housing market will revive.
“At some point, the multifamily housing market will bounce and we think we are starting to see that they are starting to happen,” he says.
Teigen says that the project conduct for Ryan A+E is healthy thanks to a diverse combination of works in different sectors.
One of these projects is Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, a multipurpose place of 5,000 places for the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, who will open in the fall.
Ryan also recently broke a new Micro Control Coat. In Arden Hills, located in the north of Minneapolis on the old army ammunition plant in the twin cities.
In the face, Teig acknowledges that “one of the biggest challenges right now is the unpredictability of political decisions at the federal level, especially with the rates and to some extent monetary policy”.
To deal with, according to him, “we are in constant communication with our partners in the industry trying to help foresee the potential impact of rates for our customers.”
