DEVELOPMENT SHOWCASE
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ALVERA: Much More Than a Building By Todd A. Phillips, Minnesota Real Estate Journal
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t starts with its name: Alvera. Stuart Ackerberg’s mother, Alvera Franceschi, passed away in August of 2020 at the age of 90. “Few people know this, but she was the glue that the Ackerberg’s development history was built
upon.” Award-winning history, that is. “It became more than a name. It gave the project meaning. It allowed all the people who worked on the project to add their own chapter to the story.” It’s a heart-warming tale that personifies the project from start to finish, but also effectively launched the building on its own path going into the future. The building’s story starts with a small 0.6-acre site on West 7th across from the Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was not an obvious site for apartments. Brian Farrell, Principal of Northland Real Estate Group had been working with the Bonfe Automotive family exploring the next chapter for the property. The site was comprised of multiple small parcels with an alleyway that was home to several electrical transformers. “It wasn’t an obvious site,” recalls Farrell. Of course, there are always hurdles, but the
proximity to Children’s and their need for attainable housing led Brian to believe he could solve the challenges and transform the property. “We enjoy challenges. The bigger the challenge, the more we can achieve. Especially on sites that have failed previous redevelopment attempts, like this one.” Farrell brought in fellow Madison graduate Stuart Ackerberg of the Ackerberg Group to co-develop the property. The two learned to re-envision real estate from