District
Lake & Hiawatha

Our dedication to the revitalization and growth of the Lake & Hiawatha corridors in Minneapolis began in 2004 with the purchase and $30M renovation and redevelopment of Hi-Lake Shopping Center. This 1960s era community shopping center was expanded and revitalized in phases. First, the company added a new Aldi grocery with 36 residential condominiums developed above. Wellington then expanded the shopping center by adding additional retail space (20,000 SF) in two buildings adjacent to Lake Street. Finally, the company constructed the workforce affordable apartment community 22twenty on Lake (F.K.A. Lake Street Station, 64 units). The original strip center was replaced with a vibrant five-building retail complex bookended with two residential communities.

This transformation was followed by the construction of a second workforce affordable housing development, $26M Blue Line Flats (135 units). Wellington also purchased and renovated the Greenway Office Building north of Hi-Lake Shopping Center. The environmentally mindful office/warehouse building (60,000 SF) is 100% leased to Peace Coffee, Headwaters Foundation, Goodwill Industries and Climate Generation. The property features a geo-thermal system, an 80kW solar array, a green roof with an apiary and a prairie grass green space that filters stormwater.

Across Hiawatha, the company more recently acquired the six-acre former Rainbow Foods site. Minnehaha Crossing comprises Phases 1 & 2, adding 92,000 SF of commercial space that includes an Aldi grocery store (24,000 SF), a K-8 charter school (55,000 SF), a neighborhood restaurant (5,000 SF), a Wells Fargo branch bank (5,000 SF) and a newly constructed Wendy’s restaurant. The second project at this site is named Everlake (F.K.A. Midtown Corner), a $37M mixed-use project that includes 189 units of housing at varying levels of affordability with neighborhood retail space on the first floor. Everlake was on-track for a 2020 opening but burned down during the Lake Street riots in late May. With the help of our contractors, lenders and others, the mixed-use apartment community began leasing in Summer 2021.

Development Planning

Stay tuned!