Why a big developer is so bullish on downtown Minneapolis

Don't tell Chris Sherman downtown is dead.

Driving the news: Sherman Associates, where Chris is president, broke ground over the past two weeks on two major mixed-use projects in downtown Minneapolis that will eventually bring 540 apartments and a total investment of $230 million to the city.

Why it matters: Apartment construction fell by 61% in Minneapolis between November and March, even as the broader Twin Cities pushed forward with new development.

• The fact that Sherman Associates, its investors and lenders are betting $230 million on downtown says a lot about the future of a city that has been hampered by a loss of office workers, sporting events and entertainment.

The state of play: Sherman Associates knows the downtown market as well as anyone. It owns three buildings in the center of the city — East End, Vicinity and Encore. The company also regularly meets with other landlords to discuss how their buildings are doing.

• Sherman said vacancies at his company's building rose to 13% last winter and the broader downtown market saw vacancies rise to 15%.
• But thanks to the vaccine rollout and some sweet leasing deals landlords offered — like a month or two of free rent — buildings have been filling back up. Sherman's properties now have a 5% vacancy.

Details: The two projects are within three blocks of each other on the east side of downtown.

• Moment Apartments will be a 10-story, 222-unit apartment tower at 500 S. 7th St. It'll include a day care and a center for injured fighters and burn victims. A groundbreaking was held in late May.
• Near the corner of Washington and Portland, Sherman started construction on a new fire station. Once it's complete early next year, the company intends to begin building a 21-story, 228-unit market rate apartment tower and a seven-story, 90-unit affordable apartment building.

The bottom line: "I live downtown. I work downtown. I play downtown. And right now I see the change occurring every day as business comes back and as restaurants have more customers coming to them," Sherman told Axios.