Aug. 7, 2023

Office tenants are scheduling move-in dates as the expanded Cherapa Place development prepares to mark a construction milestone.

The Bancorp building, a 10-story tower connected to the original Cherapa office building, is weeks away from moving in its first tenant.

Design and engineering firm ISG plans to move there in early September, the first of multiple businesses that will be opening offices in the building yet this year.

The Bancorp, Eide Bailly and MarketBeat also are under construction with moves expected this fall.

“It’s coming to life, and it feels really good — the space feels amazing, and it has this urban feel that also offers so much green space, landscaping, sculpture and the river,” said Anne Haber, partner in project developer Pendar Properties.

“You’re not just in a concrete jungle. There’s so much more.”

Floors three through eight of The Bancorp building are scheduled to turn over to tenants at the end of the month, said Joe Niewohner, senior project manager at Journey Construction.

“And then a portion of Reid Street will be opened up, so that will be a big transformation,” he said. “There’s a lot going on. It’s challenging, but our team has really risen to the occasion I think. We feel pretty good about getting to Sept. 1 and getting things turned over to meet the first timeline.”

There’s only one condominium left to buy of the 11 available on the top two floors of The Bancorp building, and owners are working toward moving in.

“We’ve got a team working on those and just solely focused on those,” Niewohner said. “Toward the end of the year is when we’ll start turning some of those over, and then we’ll roll into the first few months of next year finishing those out.”

The second floor of the building also is beginning to be leased with offices, Haber said. One tenant will take about one-third of it, and another deal is in process.

“So there’s limited office space available on the second floor, and then we have the first floor,” she said. “We have a lot of conversations going on on first floor. It’s everything from food and personal services and even potentially office there.”

Office tenants “are excited to be moving in,” she added. “They’re excited for the amenities to be completed.”

The Bancorp building includes a third-floor connecting space to the original Cherapa Place building that is designed for tenants to use as a gathering and meeting space in addition to a fourth-floor patio.

“Looking at it on paper is so different than when you actually get on-site,” Haber added.

“The windows are stunning and just completes it from the outside in.”

Here’s another sign of progress: The tower crane that has been in use at The Bancorp building for months comes down this week.

“We’re really working closely with our different divisions to manage it almost hour by hour at this point, but the coordination is going well,” Niewohner said. “We’ve just got our head down focusing on timelines.”

Progress also is underway on buildings three and four, which will include first-floor retail and mass timber apartments above.

Building three, The Clark, is nearly ready to announce a retail deal for its first floor, Haber said.

“We’re really excited about the concept we’re bringing there,” she said. “We’re in the final stages of preparing to announce it, but it’s going to be something that truly serves a need downtown, on this campus and even citywide.”

Building three is scheduled to be done in early April, Niewohner said.

“We finished out the mass timber July 1, and so we’re complete with that in both buildings,” he said. “We’re starting to put in finishes — trim, doors, cabinets — and then in building four, we’re working on getting a roof on and getting the building enclosed over the next few months.”

The fourth building, The Dakota, will include a fitness center the developers are opening on the property called SiSu Fit.

“It will be a really awesome amenity for the whole campus and also for downtown because anyone can be a member,” Haber said. “We’ll have a lot of high-tech equipment, some classes, but also personal pod classes and app access, so it will be a very connected gym with a lot of corporate services like personal training and nutrition consulting along with a sauna.”

Buildings three and four, along with the central plaza serving the entire Cherapa Place, are scheduled to be done by this time next summer.

“It will be a complete campus by summer of next year,” Haber said.