mpls: Nicollet Mall 50-story Condo Still Coming

According to the TC Business Journal, one of the founders of the Nicollet, the big condo that's going to tower over (and evict) the Scientologists from Nicollet Mall, has had to sell his stake in the venture to finance the project. Here's the story (print only):

McDonnell, the 39-year old architect who sheparded The Nicollet throuh the city approval process, sold his 50-percent stake in the $200 million project Tuesday to the Twin Cities-based development partners he signed up last spring -- Len Pratt, John Ordway, and Dan Hunt.
...
[The tree partners] are negotiating with three national lenders about potential financing packages for the proposed condo tower. The lender might get an equity stake in the project.

The developers are hoping to break ground in the second quarter of next year, about six months later than originally planned.

This is just a reminder of what big money is at stake in the downtown building boom, and how there are big banks and big players behind all these lifestyle changes. (For the most part, that's a good thing. Let the big bucks fall where they may, and let's hope it's in the big city.)

It's also a reminder that Scientologists do not belong on Nicollet Mall, unless they're wearing sandwich boards or dressed like Krishnas or something. I know a girl who stopped in for a "free personality test" and they told her she needed to be more submissive...