Buzza Lofts

Location: 1006 West Lake Street, Minneapolis
Nominated by: Peer Engineering, Dominium, and Weis Builders

Located in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis, the project renovated and rehabilitated a historically significant building into affordable apartments. The building is 140,000 square feet located on a 2.5-acre property on the northwest intersection of West Lake Street and Colfax Avenue South, and is officially listed on the National Historic Register.

The building was constructed in 1907 for the Self-Threading Needle Company, then bought by George Buzza of Craftacres Greeting Card Company, in the 1920s. Minneapolis Public Schools was the last owner before Dominium bought the property in 2011 and began abatement, remediation and rehabilitation of the property. The primary obstacle to residential redevelopment was addressing extensive asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint. Another issue was the shallow contaminated soil containing petroleum and non-petroleum constituents from a previous fuel oil underground storage tank. The underlying groundwater was contaminated with tetrachloroethene, which likely originated from an off-site source.

The certified LEED Silver completed project contains one studio, 100 one-bedroom, and 35 two-bedroom apartments with a community room and fitness center. The site also includes 136 surface parking spaces, bicycle storage, a rooftop deck, a solar panel system, a resident lounge, an outdoor patio with grilling areas, and a fire pit. The apartments help meet a critical need for affordable housing for the Uptown area. Buzza Lofts were 100% leased before opening with over a 500-person waiting list. All 136 units are available only to residents earning less than 60% of the Area Median Income.

Project Financing

$ 9,809,000 (in LIHTC equity) City of Mpls tax-exempt bonds
$ 10,564,000 (tax credit equity) Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits
$ 4,818,000 (tax credit equity) Federal Historic Tax Credits
$ 4,756,000 (tax credit equity) States Historic Tax Credits
$ 306,000 Met Council Tax Base Revitalization Account
$ 449,447 Hennepin County Environmental Response Fund

Project Partners

• City of Minneapolis
• Metropolitan Council
• Hennepin County
• US Bank and RBC
• MPCA Petroleum Brownfields and Voluntary Investigation & Cleanup Programs
• Dominium Development & Acquisition
• Peer Engineering
• Weis Builders
• BKV Group
• Smitten Group