The Lumber Exchange has its first new tenants, as the 12-story building in downtown Minneapolis comes back to life for creative types under the vision of new owner Kristi Oman.
Eleven tenants have signed on since Oman bought the roughly 140-year-old edifice for $1 in February. The tenants include creative agencies, artists, an antiques seller, two lawfirms, and a therapist, she says.
The property’s dirt-cheap price reflected its high holding costs, says Oman, who owns Space Unlimited, a Minneapolis real estate company specializing in restoration of historic buildings. Plus, she paid a $20,000 fee to take it off auction. When she took ownership Feb. 25, the 226,000-square-foot space was 18% occupied, with nine tenants, she says. It is now up to 28% occupied, and Oman is in negotiations with at least five other tenants.
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About two years ago, she also bought the Kickernick Building, another old downtown building—and just one block from the Lumber Exchange. She turned it into a hub for artists, and her approach will be the same for the Lumber Exchange.
“We bought the Kickernick with one tenant, and the streets were completely empty, and there was absolutely nobody—it was a ghost town,” she recalls. “Now, you walk outside and it’s happening, it’s alive.”…