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Colonnade office building in Golden Valley adds amenities

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Colonnade office building in Golden Valley adds amenities


Instead of heading home after finishing work this past Thursday evening, a group of colleagues mingled in their office building.

The extra hours at work weren’t on the clock, though. The group just conveniently didn’t have to leave the renovated Colonnade building in Golden Valley to have happy hour at a golf simulator.

Adding a bar and a place to practice swings were just a few of the renovations owners Eagle Ridge Partners and BLG Capital Advisors made in an effort to attract and retain tenants despite the prevalence of hybrid work.

“The goal is to lease,” said Betsy Vohs, the designer. “We want a really quality solution that works. It is not just architecture for the sake of architecture. If no one wants to lease here, what is the point?”

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This year, vacancy rates in Twin Cities office buildings reached 14.8% overall and 11.5% along the I-394 corridor where the Colonnade sits, according to data from Colliers, a commercial real estate services firm. The Colonnade building tells a different story, though.

The 355,000-square-foot suburban office space underwent $5 million of renovations in recent months. Now, the building boasts an occupancy rate of 99%, per the owners, and managed to attract and maintain tenants at unprecedented rates.

“Before COVID, you could get away with not investing in your building, and location alone might get leases signed,” said Caroline Heinlein, a senior director with Eagle Ridge Partners. “Post-COVID, employers are looking at their office space more critically and how the building’s common areas and amenities can attract their employees back.”

For Heinlein and Lisa Peterson, who also serves as a senior director at Eagle Ridge, investing in renovating the building was a necessary part of reducing the risk of high vacancy rates.

Realizing it was time to renovate, Heinlein and Peterson decided to hire Vohs, a designer, architect, founder and CEO of design firm Studio BV.

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“The building was built in the late [19]80s,” Vohs said. “The building was in good shape, but the design inside was still left over from the late ’80s. It hadn’t been touched since we renovated it.”

Prior to renovations, the main lobby and atrium consisted of a large water fountain that spanned the entire atrium and floor-to-ceiling pink granite tiling. Today, only the floors still sport the pink tiles, and in place of the “very loud” water feature, Vohs said, there are tables, chairs and couches for sitting, working or socializing.

“In a hybrid landscape, especially in the Twin Cities where the unemployment rate is so low, people want more than their office space,” Vohs said. “… They want a space that feels desirable where they can meet for coffee or meet up with their team. They want more.”

The Colonnade also features a tenant-only lounge and workspace as well as an outdoor patio. Tenants can reserve the spaces and host events for free.

Marc Flanders, a senior vice president and commercial banker at Bell Bank, has been one of the tenants in the Colonnade for more than a decade. He was one of those hanging out after hours Thursday and said he views the renovations of the Colonnade as part of a larger trend in the commercial real estate market.

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“It is really nice to be able to host an event within the building, and there is also free parking adjacent to the building, which is key,” Flanders said. “There were a lot of upgrades made to the building, and it lightened up the building quite a bit.

“More people are returning to the building, and people like to have a place to host and get together with coworkers without having to leave the space.”



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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis construction workers call on developers to take stand against ICE

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Minneapolis construction workers call on developers to take stand against ICE


Construction workers in Minneapolis on Friday called for developers to demand that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave Minnesota and offer protections for their crews. Protesters at a separate demonstration on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis asked corporate businesses to end what they call cooperation with immigration enforcement.



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Minneapolis, MN

Fan behind Anthony Edwards’ orange bracelet has beaten cancer

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Fan behind Anthony Edwards’ orange bracelet has beaten cancer


The story behind Anthony Edwards wearing a bright orange bracelet since last season has received a positive development, after Timberwolves fans learned Luca Wright has beaten leukemia.

Anthony Edwards, Luca Wright connection

What we know:

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Last January, the 6-year-old Minnesotan met “Ant” for the first time following a game against the Detroit Pistons, proclaiming him to be his favorite player, and asking him to wear a bracelet that symbolizes leukemia awareness, resilience and support for those affected. During the interaction, the fan had created a sign with a to-do list: “1. Beat Cancer. 2. Be The Next MJ.”

Leukemia is a type of cancer that spreads throughout the bloodstream, infecting bone marrow and a person’s lymphatic system by rapid production of abnormal white blood cells that can’t fight infection.

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Since then, the Wolves’ MVP has worn a bracelet that proclaims, “Love Like Luca” on it for every game he has played, vowing to wear it “until he hangs up his sneakers.”

Ant has gone on to explain how the gesture connected with him given that he lost both his mother, Yvette, and grandmother, Shirley, to cancer when he was 14 years old. The No. 5 jersey he wears currently is a tribute to them both.

Luca bracelet latest

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Dig deeper:

More than a year later, Wolves fans have received the update they hoped for – now 7-year-old Luca has beaten his cancer.

What’s next:

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Ant has since responded to the news with his own social media video, calling it “God’s gift” and saying, “Let’s do this Luca.”

No word yet on whether he intends to keep wearing the bracelet, though he’s previously said he has a stash of replacements near the team bench should one ever be broken.

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The Source: Information provided by the Minnesota Timberwolves public relations department.

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Family of Minneapolis brothers killed by cousin says their deaths were preventable:

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Family of Minneapolis brothers killed by cousin says their deaths were preventable:


A Minneapolis family is struggling to make sense of a tragedy that has left them heartbroken. 

Family tells WCCO 14-year-old Xavier Barnett and 23-year-old Akwame Stewart were killed Monday.

The brothers were very different, but equally loved. Barnett was a good student and athlete. Stewart was a painter, creative and thoughtful. Two brothers, loved and full of promise, gone. 

Police say the accused shooter is their cousin, 23-year-old Eddie Duncan.

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Court records show Duncan was released on bail Monday on charges of fleeing law enforcement and possession of a gun modified with an “auto sear switch.”

Court records also show Duncan was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation, but not until next month, on March 24.

Deasia Freeman, Barnett and Stewart’s sister, says this loss could have been prevented. 

“They all failed us. We got two innocent lives gone for no reason. Didn’t do nothing to nobody,” Freeman said.

Family members say the system and Duncan’s family let them down.

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Freeman says Duncan’s family saw the warning signs and still bailed him out

“If you knew this man was thinking like this, y’all should have kept him in there and he should not even have bail,” she said. 

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says they noted Duncan was a public safety risk and asked for a high bail, much higher than a typical request. 

“In Minnesota, there is a constitutional right to bail, and the bail amount is set by the Court. Our office noted a public safety risk with Mr. Duncan and asked the judge to set bail at $70,000, or $35,000 with conditions; both of which are higher than we would typically request in this scenario. The judge set bail in that amount. Mr. Duncan posted $35,000 bail with conditions of release, as is allowed under the Minnesota Constitution, and was released from custody. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by yesterday’s violence. This was a terrible tragedy for this family and our community,” a spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.

For Freeman and her family, the hardest part isn’t just the legal process but living each day without their brothers. 

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Even in the heartbreak, she says the memories of the good days, the laughter and love they shared will carry them through.

“I wish I could get just one more phone call from them asking me where I’m at,” Freeman said as tears rolled down her face. 

Court records confirm Duncan left the scene of the crime and fled to nearby Brooklyn Center. There, a search warrant says Duncan “fired a gun at officers, striking two squads,” when police arrived. That’s when officers returned fire, shooting and killing him.

Three officers have been placed on critical incident leave as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension leads the investigation into Duncan’s fatal shooting.

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