History:  Resolution 16-0431 (adopted November 15, 2016) declared property located at 1101 3rd Avenue South, commonly referred to as Century Plaza, as surplus.

The property occupies a full city block between 3rd and 4th Avenues South and 11th and 12th Streets South in downtown Minneapolis. The building has six floors of useable space, a gross building area of approximately 297,650 square feet, and a 334-car parking ramp.

Hennepin County purchased the property in 1996 and used it for a variety of office and human service functions until the building closed in May of 2017.

The county issued a request for proposals (RFP) on January 25, 2017, to seek proposals from parties interested in acquiring the property. Approximately 60 individuals toured the property during four publicly advertised tours. On April 28, 2017, the county received four RFP responses and one letter of interest.

County and city staff reviewed the responses and recommend entering into a purchase agreement with DEHL Properties, LLC (DEHL) or an affiliated entity. DEHL proposes to renovate the building into office space and flexible space to complement the Minneapolis Convention Center and other downtown hotels.

Through the RFP response, DEHL offered $9,425,000 for the property and proposed to close in the third quarter of 2017. The purchase agreement will be drafted by the county and will include business terms and conditions customary to transactions entered into by the county.

Since the Human Services Fund was utilized to pay debt service cost related to the building purchase, the sale proceeds will be deposited in the Human Services Fund. 

Current Request: This request is to authorize negotiation of Purchase Agreement A177466 with DEHL Properties, LLC, or affiliated entity, for the sale of the Century Plaza building and associated property in the estimated receivable amount of $9,450,000.

Impact/Outcomes: Approval of this request will allow for the disposition of surplus property and will return the property to the tax roles.