WaHu Student Apartments

WaHu Student Apartments (also known simply as WaHu or Wahu) is a luxury residential apartment building located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was first announced in 2012 with intent to cater to the campus population of the nearby University of Minnesota. The complex comprises 327 residential units within three apartment towers. It also contains designated retail space, currently leased by tenants such as Bank of America, Blaze Pizza, and local restaurants.

WaHu Student Apartments
WaHu Student Apartments on a clear day with snow on the ground. The left side is lower, six stories; the right side is eleven.
The building in 2023
Alternative names
  • WaHu
  • Wahu
General information
Type
Architectural styleModern
LocationMinneapolis, Minnesota
Address1016 Washington Avenue Southeast
Coordinates44°58′23″N 93°13′21″W
Construction startedDecember 2013
CompletedAugust 2015
Cost$90 million (USD)
ClientCPM Development
LandlordCardinal Group Properties
Height132 ft (40 m)
Technical details
Floor count11
Floor area550,000 sq ft (51,000 m2)
Design and construction
Architecture firmBKV Group
Developer
  • North Bay Companies
  • Reuter Walton Development

Its name is a combination of the two roads at its adjacent intersection, Huron Boulevard Southeast and Washington Avenue Southeast. WaHu Student Apartments is located in the Stadium Village neighborhood of Minneapolis, built atop the site of a former blood plasma clinic that contributed to several construction delays for the complex. Neighboring structures to the apartment complex include TCF Bank Stadium and the Stadium Village light rail station. Construction of WaHu Student Apartments was completed in August 2015, in time for the start of the academic year.

Construction and completion

WaHu Student Apartments was designed by the Minneapolis-based architectural firm BKV Group.[1] The project was first discussed in 2012, along with plans to relocate current businesses on the site, including a blood plasma donation center called CSL.[2] Construction of WaHu Student Apartments was estimated to reach completion in 2014 in time for the start of the academic year, although this was later pushed back to 2015 due to CSL's decision to complete their original leasing agreement, which ended in August 2014. The plasma clinic initially explored relocating options as early as 2012, but the city of Minneapolis disapproved of a plan to rezone a lot across the street from its current location to allow for medical research.[3] WaHu Student Apartment's client was local apartment developer CPM Development, the company behind 15 other housing projects in Minneapolis.[4] Daniel Oberpriller, a co-founder of CPM Development, formally announced the project in mid-2013 and labeled it as a luxury student housing project.[5]

A wide apartment building under construction
WaHu under construction in 2014

The CSL Plasma center prevented construction of the site from beginning due to their inability to lock down a new, suitable location. On September 20, 2013, Finance & Commerce magazine confirmed that the company was able to lease a suitably-zoned space for medical research, allowing work on WaHu Student Apartments to start, beginning in December 2013.[3] Construction on the project was completed in August 2015. Its developers consisted of locally-based North Bay Companies and Reuter Walton Development.[6][7] Cardinal Group Companies manages the residential units of WaHu Student Apartments, while Colliers International handles the retail tenants.[8][9]

Design and location
A photograph of Minneapolis's Stadium Village neighborhood.
WaHu Student Apartments is located within Minneapolis's Stadium Village neighborhood.

WaHu Student Apartments consists of eleven stories with a total of 327 residential units.[4] With an angular design, it contains two 6-story residential towers and one 11-story tower.[10][11] The apartment units range from studio efficiencies to four bedroom and four bathroom units.[12] The peak height of the tallest tower is 132 ft (40 m), comparable to neighboring apartment buildings in Stadium Village.[13] The first floor of the apartment complex contains 24,000 sq ft (2,200 m2) of leasable retail space, designated for restaurants, bars, and shops.[7] Tenants include Blaze Pizza, Bank of America, Sprouts Salad Company, and the MuMu bubble teahouse, formerly called Bambu.[9][14] Two other available retail suites sit vacant.[9]

The complex's design contains elements of modern architecture, with "materials such as glass, metal panels, metal siding, and cement board panels".[1] The first floor storefronts contain large quantities of glass, with certain sections of windows repeating upwards to the eleventh floor.[1]

WaHu Student Apartments is located at the intersection of Huron Boulevard Southeast and Washington Avenue Southeast,[7] adjacent to other student housing projects like Stadium View Apartments, Solhaus, and Solhaus Tower.[13] Set within the Stadium Village neighborhood of Minneapolis, it was constructed on the site of the former plasma donation center and an Arby's restaurant.[3] WaHu Student Apartments is adjacent to the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium and across the street from the Stadium Village station for the Metro Green Line light rail line.[15] According to officials from the city of Minneapolis, the project was compliant with the university's "master plan" for student housing, which calls for residential projects with similar unit densities and building heights.[13]

References
  1. "Wahu Student Apartments – Minneapolis, MN". BKV Group. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  2. "Community Development Committee Agenda: 10/23/2012". City of Minneapolis. October 23, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  3. Newmarker, Chris (September 20, 2013). "WaHu development near U clears final hurdle (Update)". Finance & Commerce. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  4. Gilyard, Burl (October 24, 2017). "CPM Leaders Launch New, Separate Companies". Twin Cities Business. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  5. Buchta, Jim (June 15, 2013). "Luxury housing boom transforms student life at U of M". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  6. "Development Portfolio". Reuter Walton Development. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  7. "Development Portfolio: WaHu". North Bay Companies. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  8. "Our Portfolio". Cardinal Group Companies. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  9. "Retail For Lease: The WaHu" (PDF). Colliers International. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  10. Hemming, Jared (June 1, 2016). "Luxury apartments are swarming the U, but students can't buy serenity". City Pages. Archived from the original on November 19, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  11. Link, Jeff (June 15, 2015). "Finding Ways to Fit In". American Builders Quarterly. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  12. "WaHu Apartment Rentals: Our Floor Plans". WaHu Student Apartments. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  13. "Minneapolis – City of Lakes, CPED Staff Report: Land Use Application Summary" (PDF). City of Minneapolis. May 11, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  14. "Retail". WaHu Student Apartments. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  15. "Completed Development Projects". Prospect Park 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
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