SECOND + SECOND is a multi-family development located at 120 N 2nd Street in the North Loop Neighborhood of Minneapolis. The site is located within the 19th Century portion of the Minneapolis Warehouse Historic District and the St. Anthony Falls Historic District. The design team was therefore tasked with creating a modern, timeless building that would appear seamlessly woven into the fabric of the surrounding community. The Minneapolis Warehouse District Design Guidelines require that the project’s cladding be composed of “one principal material.” Based in part on this requirement and in our attempt to emulate neighboring brick buildings with their unique cornices, we challenged our design teams and contractor to construct a full height brick building, atypical for this construction type. The building’s exterior, clad in a dark brick, is complimented with metal accents and multiple specialty site lighting elements throughout.

A unique design element of this project is the outdoor landscaped courtyard that runs centrally through the site. This space is open to the public, accessible to pedestrians only, and designed to create a sense of place for the neighborhood and a space for all to enjoy. The courtyard is anchored by vibrant retail; 20,000 square feet of retail spaces have frontage on both the primary street facades and at the courtyard edges. The residential entry is also accessed from the internal courtyard to provide a more intimate “front door” for the associated urban dwellings.

The upper levels of the project are home to 158 modern, market rate rental apartments and resident amenities, including the Club Room. From this shared gathering space on Level 6, tenants can use an exterior stair to access the 4500 square foot roof terrace that offers a 360-degree panorama of the city, with views of Downtown Minneapolis and the Mississippi River. The residential elevator also accesses this outdoor space where there is ample seating, a grill, multiple fire pits, and a small lawn for tenant use.