Proposed Edina apartments would be built inside a warehouse

A proposed six-story, 200-unit apartment project in Edina, if approved, will be built inside of an Owatonna warehouse.

Driving the news: Developer Solomon Real Estate is partnering with a relatively new local company, Rise Modular, to build the project, which is at the Pentagon Park site near Highway 100 and Interstate 494.

The details: Rise opened a massive warehouse last year. It completely builds apartments — including toilets, sinks and light fixtures — inside of a warehouse and trucks them to a project site, where they are stacked into place by a crane.

• Rise says its method saves on development costs because it speeds up construction and provides a safe, climate-controlled workplace for employees.
• The company showcased the method last fall when it stacked a 30-unit building in South Minneapolis, its first project.

What's next: The developers will need a zoning change because the project was supposed to be a hotel before the pandemic hammered the travel industry.

• The project will be discussed at Wednesday's Edina Planning Commission meeting.