Office Envy: The Colonnade’s Update
Long before the West End and adjacent areas were considered a prime office and residential address, the Colonnade tower was developed along I-394, straddling St. Louis Park and Golden Valley.
Home to Pentair, Inspire Medical Systems, and Bell Bank, the Colonnade’s location made it a desirable address, but the space itself hadn’t been updated since it opened in 1988. Its age was especially apparent in comparison to some of the new towers that have gone up nearby. Occupancy in recent years had fallen to 85%.
Minneapolis-based Eagle Ridge Partners bought the 16-story building in 2022 and invested $5 million into transforming the lobby and other shared areas into amenity-rich spaces for tenants.
Local commercial design firm Studio BV turned the five-story atrium, which was dark and underutilized, into a light-filled space with open areas for meetings and workstations for tenants.
The Colonnade added a private tenant lounge—with golf simulator, bar, fireplace, and plenty of soft seating— that spills out onto a patio, which is available for tenants to rent. A tenant café was also relocated closer to the new atrium space.
“In a market where there’s six months of the year where you are not getting outside of the office building,” says Shannon Van Gemert, managing director and principal at Eagle Ridge Partners, “how do we create an environment where employees can come into the building and be successful at work?”
The Colonnade added a private tenant lounge—with golf simulator, bar, fireplace, and plenty of soft seating—that spills out onto a patio.
Elevating the building’s common spaces has encouraged tenants to invest in their own offices to encourage employees to come in more often, says Eagle Ridge Partners senior director Caroline Heinlein. Indeed, several of the Colonnade’s tenants have recently increased their square footage.
Eagle Ridge Partners was behind the recent renovations of the One Southwest Crossing Building in Eden Prairie and International Market Square in Minneapolis.
What: The Colonnade
Where: 5500 Wayzata Boulevard, Golden Valley
Size: 355,000 square feet
Designer: Studio BV
Photographer: Eagle Ridge Partners/Corey Gaffer
