Minneapolis, MN. 2017
64,060 SF. Renovation, Commercial
The Leef Brothers Laundry campus will be the site for a large office conversion in a collection of buildings from the mid-20th century. This site is poised to be the first project of many that will start to reshape the Glenwood Avenue corridor and reconnect this portion of the city with the extension of the LRT to the west. Construction is scheduled to start in 2017.
White Bear, MN. 2016
185 Units. Mixed use. Public parking ramp. Museum and Commercial.
Boat Works Commons is the culmination of a long-term vision to revitalize an old boat manufacturing site. A public park is at the heart of this unique development, drawing residents to the shores of White Bear Lake. The design combines 85 market rate apartments and 8,000 square feet of restaurant, museum, and community event spaces that define a highly-integrated public courtyard connected to the lake and neighboring regional trails.
With its signature public green, regional trail connections, an improved harbor, and progressive storm-water infiltration design, Boat Works Commons reinvents living on the water's edge in the metro.
Collage Architects, in conjunction with Close Landscape Architects, worked with the neighborhood of Elliot Park in Minneapolis to plan for the future vision of the area. The team developed new strategies for implementation of several existing plans and incorporated new ideas to create a 21st century neighborhood at the edge of downtown Minneapolis. The team worked with stakeholders, the neighborhood, and the city to provide a road map for the future.
Minneapolis, MN. 2017
Commercial
Lake Street development has detonated growth and opportunities for new construction. This site occupies what used to be a Rainbow groceries store, allowing for a vivrant retail development and new market rate housing adjacent within the same site. The landscape will refresh the circulation to benefit the pedestrians. The "village like" circulation spaces will feel soft and easy to access, diminishing the tension between vehicular transit. The refreshed area will be at the same time a trigger for future neighboring developments that only reinforce the Development Objectives on Lake Street that have been in progress for over a decade.
Saint Paul, MN. 2017.
The Fillmore Parcel is a 5-phase development along the Mississippi River south of Downtown St. Paul, and is situated within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. This project is steps away from walking and regional bike trails and over time will reconnect the diverse fabric of West St. Paul to the transforming riverfront. This unique downtown-adjacent community will focus on sustainability and provide over 600 units of diverse housing types and 68,000 sf of commercial space, all with gorgeous panoramic views of historic St. Paul.
The many natural depressions and features of the Glen Gregor residential development were strategically used to create spacious housing lots that reflect the landscape's rolling terrain. The predominately single-family housing is organized into groupings that blend with their surroundings. Most of the homes are adjacent to natural areas that become assets rather than design hindrances. Lot sizes were reduced to achieve approximately 2.5 units per acre overall, while retaining the natural features of the landscape. Most of the home sites are either walk-out of look-out basements, as the plan takes advantage of the sloping terrain to create great home sites.
Minneapolis, MN. 2012
73,326 SF
The first phase of this two phase development took 1/3 of a dormant big box retailer and rehabilitated the face of the building into a clean collection of tenant spaces. The 19,000 square feet of retail space will now be occupied by a holistic grocer to service downtown Richfield.
Phase II will add more retail spaces on the main intersection of town, improving the public realm and street edge while activating a long defunct site in the heart of the town.
A 900 acre residential development located on a plateau above the historic river town of Carver. Essentially a peninsula defined on the edges by Carver Creek and a natural ravine through which the creek flows, the plateau is characterized by distant views and dramatic bluffs which surround the site. Carver Creek skirts the northeast edge of the property, connecting to the Minnesota River about a mile to the east. The site's natural beauty and great connections to the landscape and the existing town, Carver Creek, and the Minnesota River Valley Nature Preserve are an asset that deserves highlighting and preservation. The development captures the best attributes of the land and connect them through an integrated network of trails and parks to create a unique residential development featuring ideally situated home sites within a short walk of the park's overall trail system.
Minneapolis, MN. 2017
10,741 SF Office renovation. Restaurant.
North East Minneapolis Arts District is unique, centrally located, lauded by the city as being a cultural center, and is consistently sought out by visitors (and residents) as a great area to go and hang out. It's the Number One Arts District in the United States.* The area has been developed with artists' studios, breweries, retail and other commercial enterprises. Collage Architects in tune with Optimistic Partners are becoming part of this community by developing an urban detonator that includes a business incubator, two restaurants, a whiskey-cigar lounge and the new headquarters for Collage Architects. This will be located right in the heart of North East. It will start operations in the Fall of 2017.
Ramsey Town Center incorporates 320 acres of new growth in a third ring suburban location. The plan consists of mid- to high-density housing, retail, office, medical, and civic uses, totaling approximately $900 million of construction. As part of the design team, Collage established the infrastructure and design of the public realm using an integrated park system to define the community. Ramsey Town Center has been recognized and awarded locally and nationally by design and business organizations. This project is an excellent example of laying carefully planned groundwork for a town center that will grow over time. Collage has been involved with subsequent residential and commercial design within the area that is slowly taking shape.
Minneapolis, MN. 2012
9 Residential Buildings
36 Affordable Dwelling Units
Consists of 36 affordable units in two distinctly different building types in West Bend, Wisconsin. This redevelopment is located on a sloping, former "brown-field" site between an established residential neighborhood and the historic downtown. A contemporary composition of traditional forms creates a pedestrian friendly street that reflects the neighborhood on one side. The modern rectangular forms of the second building type reflect the downtown character and create landscaped courtyards that open to the adjacent river and regional bike trail. The design knits together two parts of the community, and reestablishes a traditional street, while providing affordable housing with distinction.
