Northwestern Mutual backs Minneapolis tower with $85m loan

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NML) has provided a construction-to-permanent loan in excess of $85 million for the development of 365 Nicollet Residences, a 30-story, 369-unit apartment tower in downtown Minneapolis.

CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance team arranged the eight-year, fixed-rate loan on behalf of borrower Opus Development Company.

“The loan not only provides desirable terms but allows the borrower longer-term flexibility,” said Doug Seylar, a CBRE Capital Markets managing director, who arranged the deal with Jessica Burke out of the firm’s Minneapolis office.

The planned apartments reportedly make up the largest residential project under construction in the city, coming at a time when the high-end rental market is heating up — not only in Minneapolis but in many key real estate markets across the country.

“People are wondering when we’ll hit the tipping point, but if Opus is pulling the trigger it’s a good sign about their analysis of that market,” Steve Cramer, president of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Downtown Improvement District, told the city’s StarTribune.

The City of Minneapolis has stated its intention to double its residential population to 70,000 “as a catalyst for driving Downtown’s next wave of business vitality, social improvement and cultural renewal,” and Cramer argued that that the Opus development “indicates continuing strength of this market and moves us closer to our goal of doubling our downtown population.”

The tower will include 9,500 sq ft of street-level retail space at its base. The development is in the Gateway District, between the north end of Nicollet Mall and the Mississippi River, nearby Opus’s recently-completed Nic on Fifth apartment tower and the Xcel Energy headquarters building.