VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
©2019 Real Estate Publishing Corporation
February 2019
Development Activity Continues at Strong Pace in Washington County
By Liz Wolf
F
rom new upscale apartments and affordable senior housing to new office space and industrial projects, strong development activity continues across Washington County, also known as “East Metro.” The county stretches 41 miles from Forest Lake to Cottage Grove, and Chris Eng says he can connect a developer with any of the county’s 33 East Metro
communities. Eng is the county’s first-ever economic development director, joining the Washington County Community Development Agency (CDA) in 2016. He says the East Metro has a diverse inventory of untapped land. “I want to make it easy for site selectors,” Eng says. “You don’t have to go it alone. If you’re looking for opportunities in the East Metro, I can put you in touch with any of the communities with just one phone call.” Here’s an update on some of the development occurring in Washington County:
Cottage Grove One project that’s working its way through the Cottage Grove city-approval process is the redevelopment of the 3-acre former city hall site. The project calls for 108 units of market-rate apartments. Cottage Grove Senior Planner John Burbank says the proposed two-story, 24,000-square-foot multifamily building would be an $18.6 million capital investment. The developer is Minneapolis-based DK Design and Development. Washington Cty to page 10
Opportunity Zone Deals Heating Up by Nik Linde, Minnesota Real Estate Journal #mrejoppzones, #oppzonesinfo
S
et to be perhaps the biggest driver in real estate since the early 1980’s, Opportunity Zones present a massive new funding source and that tool now appears primed and ready for real estate developers. Similar in some respects to 1031 exchanges, Opportunity Zones allow investors to
defer capital gains from one transaction to the next. Under these new rules, however, investors can defer gains on highly-appreciated assets like stocks and other non-real estate investments. Zachary Robins, attorney at Messerli & Kramer, thinks big deals will happen soon. “Between March and June 2019, I predict that will be the most active time for these opportunity deals. This will be an exciting time and it’s going to be very productive.” Robins notes the recent changes in
advertising will accelerate deals as well. “The new general solicitation rule 506(c) allows for public advertising to maximize the reach of these zones. Not all developments can be named publicly, so this is huge for commercial real estate.” Robins and Duane Lund, CEO of NAI Legacy, are currently involved with the Birdtown Flats in Robbinsdale. “These developments are very exciting, but it’s important to remember that opportunity zones Opportunity Zones to page 8