Minneapolis, MN
Hempel buying another well-known downtown Minneapolis building, Loews Hotel
A joint venture of three investors plans to buy the Loews Minneapolis Hotel in downtown, one of which is Eden Prairie-based Hempel Real Estate that has recently bought several prominent buildings in the area.
Milwaukee-based Marcus Hotels & Resorts and Oklahoma City-based Robinson Park Investments are the other investors. The sale should close in early March, though no parties have disclosed terms of the deal.
The hotel, across North First Avenue from the Target Center arena between North Sixth and North Seventh streets, is Hempel’s third major purchase in the past year. This past summer, it bought the LaSalle Plaza office building for $46 million, a steep discount. And in the fall, it bought the older, smaller Pence Building, which connects to LaSalle Plaza by skyway. Both of those building are about two blocks away from the Loews Hotel.
“The agreement to purchase the Loews Minneapolis Hotel is consistent with our strategy to co-invest with like-minded partners and manage leading properties across the nation,” said Michael Evans, president of Marcus Hotels & Resorts, in a statement.
A Hempel representative could not be reached for comment.
Hempel has built a diversified property portfolio with office, retail, medical office, apartments and land for future development. Its holdings are largely in the Twin Cities, but Hempel also owns several properties in Milwaukee. Its only other hotel is a Best Western Plus near the Mall of America.
The hotel market is challenging. New York-based Loews Hotels & Resorts paid $65 million in 2014 to acquire the then-named Graves 601 Hotel from the local Graves Hospitality Corp., and property records suggest that the new sale price will be significantly less. Hennepin County currently has the property assessed at $24.2 million.
“Hotels depending on corporate business are still trying to recover,” said Ted Leines, CEO of Eden Prairie-based Leines Hotel Advisors, a hotel brokerage firm. “Corporate clients are generally their top-paying clients.”
Leines said business remaining soft is hurting hotel valuations.
The Loews hotel was part of a redevelopment of the long-troubled Block E, which sat vacant throughout the 1990s as a surface parking lot. A retail-entertainment concept, owned separately from the hotel, dominated the project but struggled to draw customers. It is now known as Mayo Clinic Square.
The scene of the crash at 26th Avenue North and Emerson Avenue North in Minneapolis. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis woman was sentenced for her role in a deadly crash that killed two women and injured two other people in December 2024.
READ MORE: Minneapolis woman charged in fatal high-speed crash faces additional charges
Woman sentenced in fatal Minneapolis crash
Big picture view:
Prosecutors say Teniki Steward drove a Buick Enclave into a bus shelter and a Ford Explorer after speeding through a red light.
Both of the women in the Ford Explorer died in the crash. They were identified as 53-year-old Ester Jean Fulks and 57-year-old Rose Elaine Reece.
During the crash, the Ford Explorer went off the road, injuring a 17-year-old boy who was waiting for a school bus.
The passenger in Steward’s vehicle also suffered injuries.
Minneapolis police said that Steward was also injured in the crash.
Steward pleaded guilty to multiple murder charges.
What they’re saying:
During the sentencing, the daughter of one of the victims had a statement read on her behalf:
“There’s nothing that can truly prepare you for the moment your entire world is taken from you. Losing my mom has left a pain in my heart that words will never be able to explain.”
What’s next:
Minnesota law requires that Steward serves at least two-thirds of her sentence, a bit under eight-and-a-half years, in prison.
Fatal Emerson and 26th crash
The backstory:
According to the criminal complaint, through surveillance videos from the scene of the crash and witnesses, investigators learned that Steward, driving the Buick Enclave, had been driving at a high rate of speed northbound on Emerson Avenue North.
Before the fatal crash, Steward sped through the intersection of Emerson Avenue North and Broadway Avenue North, running a red light and nearly causing a crash, the charges said.
Steward then continued to speed northbound down Emerson Avenue North, and ran another red light at 26th Avenue North, hitting the Ford Explorer, which was traveling eastbound, according to the complaint.
The Ford Explorer had been at the intersection of Emerson and 26th on a green light.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty shared the following statement:
“This was an egregious act that took Rose and Esther’s lives and injured a child waiting to go to school at a bus stop. Ms. Steward was driving at extremely dangerous speeds on city streets and narrowly avoided multiple collisions before the incident occurred. Third-degree murder charges are appropriate to hold her accountable and protect our community.”
The Source: This story uses information gathered from an Olmsted County court appearance and previous FOX 9 reporting.
A motorcyclist is dead after an early morning crash in Minneapolis Friday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said that at 1:20 a.m., a Suzuki Motorcycle going north on I-35W at Johnson Street hit the left side of the median guard rail.
The motorcycle continued north for about another quarter mile before coming to a rest on the right-hand side.
State Patrol said the rider came to rest on the left shoulder. He was later identified as 21-year-old Andrew James Neuberger.
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The Rochester Spartans boys volleyball team played its second game on consecutive nights. The Spartans beat Minneapolis Camden 3-0.
Rochester’s next game will be Tuesday, April 21, at St. Anthony Village at 7:00 p.m.
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