Top Projects: One Southdale Place

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Address: 6800 York Ave. S., Edina

Project cost: $50 million

Project size: 232 apartments in three buildings representing 371,208 square feet

Owner: One Southdale Place LLC/StuartCo

Contractor: Kraus-Anderson Construction Company

Architect: BKV Group

Engineers: BKV Group

Editor’s note: This is the 16th installment in Finance & Commerce’s Top Projects of 2014 series. Previous installments are available here.

Although the Southdale area of Edina is rich with developments, the new luxury apartment community of One Southdale Place not only stands apart but also manages to blend in.

That’s a tricky combination, says Jamie Engelsma, project manager at Kraus-Anderson Construction Company. “The project was distinctive because it took an underutilized portion of a shopping center parking lot and created a complex that looks like it belongs there,” he said.

The 232-unit project broke ground in summer 2013 and opened to its first residents a little more than a year later.

One Southdale Place consists of three buildings of varying heights that are connected by skyways and that wrap around a private, interior landscaped yard. This area features an outdoor pool, sundeck, putting green, and grilling stations — but it’s the walkways leading to Southdale Center that are particularly notable, Engelsma said.

The area is not particularly known as “walkable,” but developers and the city of Edina wanted an apartment complex that would encourage residents to walk to retail and restaurants rather than drive. That connection also highlights the unusual partnership between local residential developer StuartCo and Southdale owner Simon Property Group that is at the heart of the development.

Other sustainable measures made their way into the project, including rain gardens and underground storm water treatment capability. The lobby features a green roof, and low-flow plumbing fixtures were installed for reduced water use.

The only challenge to crop up during construction was a large portion of the site had to be built right next to an underground garage that was being used at the same time.

Moving materials and doing staging was difficult, he said, but the result is a project that he feels proud to have been involved in. “This was a unique project, and I think it incorporates well into its surroundings,” he said.

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(File photo: Bill Klotz)

http://www.twincities.com/news/state/ci_28695539/3-lawsuits-over-improper-data-checks-may-proceed-appeals-court-says

(File photo: Bill Klotz)

(File photo: Bill Klotz)

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