Sidney Hall & Dinkydome

Location: 310 15th Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN
Nominated by: Braun Intertec Corporation

Sydney Hall is a six-story student apartment building with retail development on the ground floor, and the adjacent historic Dinkydome, which was extensively renovated as part of the project for residential and commercial use.  The site, which was formerly occupied by surface parking lots, a small, single story restaurant and the historic Dinkydome, is located in the heart of Dinkytown adjacent to the University of Minnesota’s East Bank Campus.

In addition to overcoming the challenges involved with disposal of up to 12 feet of fill soil impacted with asbestos, ash, and concentrations of contaminants in excess of industrial standards, the project partners fought hard to secure the financing necessary to break ground. The project, which began in 2009, was a bright spot in an otherwise bleak real estate market, providing jobs for more than 500 employees from the construction, engineering and architecture professions.

The redevelopment of the Sydney Hall project opened for the 2010-2011 academic year.  Since completion, the project has won several awards including the Minnesota Shopping Center Association’s Best Mixed-Use project, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal Best in Real Estate Award, and the University of Minnesota MN Daily Newspaper Grapevine Award for Best Apartment Complex. Today the project continues to be an economic success based on high leasing rates, the number of people that are employed at the site and the increase in property value and tax base.

Project Financing

$25,000,000 PrivateBank
$10,800,000 Doran Companies
$414,760 MN Department of Environment & Economic Development
$80,033 Hennepin County’s Environmental Response Fund

Project Partners

• Doran Companies
• Elness Swensen Graham Architects, Inc.
• Westwood Professional Services
• Braun Intertec
• PrivateBank
• City of Minneapolis
• University of Minnesota
• Hennepin County
• MN Department of Employment & Economic Development
• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency