New life for historic Minneapolis building near U.S. Bank Stadium

The Strutwear Knitting Building, a historic Art Deco structure next to U.S. Bank Stadium, is finally coming back to life.

Driving the news: The Kharbanda family — longtime owners of the property at 1010 7th St. — has started demolition work in advance of a project to turn the 1920s building into 179 apartments.

Context: First used as garment factory, the 10-story building was later a U.S. Bank office building and, most recently, a temporary office for the Minnesota Vikings and Mortenson Construction during the building of U.S. Bank Stadium.

Of note: Like many old buildings, the floor plates are difficult and plans show that many of the apartments won't have a window to the outside, only toward an atrium in the middle of the building where natural light comes in from sky windows.

What's ahead: The Kharbandas previously told the Business Journal they would like to land a restaurant or fitness center for the lower level of the building.