Days after putting up for sale their entire portfolio of commercial buildings in downtown St. Paul, Madison Equities has placed the century-old Lowry Apartments on Wabasha Street on the market without a specific asking price.
The listing for the 134-unit apartment building was published Tuesday by Marcus & Millichap. The 11-story building, which opened in 1928 and underwent a $13 million renovation a decade ago, houses the popular Gray Duck Tavern and the Ramsey County Attorney’s offices in two ground-floor retail spaces. The listing indicates there’s space in the building to add an additional five residential units.
The building, connected by skyway to City Hall at 345 Wabasha St. N., has an estimated market value of $9.5 million. The late Jim Crockarell, the Madison Equities principal who purchased the Lowry in 2012 for $4.8 million, once envisioned opening a rooftop restaurant.
The Oz, a former basement disco club that opened in the Lowry on Valentine’s Day in 1979, was once dubbed one of the most popular hangouts in downtown St. Paul, with clientele including famed writers and politicians. Producer Steven Greenberg and sound engineer David Rivkin used the venue to repeatedly test their mix of the 1980 hit song “Funkytown” by Lipps Inc.
After Crockarell’s renovations, dozens of apartments were used as student housing for the McNally Smith College of Music until the school closed in 2017.
Crockarell died in January, leaving the fate of his real estate holdings in question. Madison Equities, believed to be the largest property owner in downtown St. Paul, placed 10 properties on the market for sale together last week, including six downtown office buildings, two parking ramps, the Handsome Hog restaurant on Selby Avenue and the empty lot next to it.
The office buildings include some of downtown St. Paul’s oldest, tallest and most iconic commercial real estate — the First National Bank building, the U.S. Bank building, Alliance Center, the Empire Building, 375 Jackson Square and Park Square Court. The company has not set an asking price, and has reserved the right to sell properties individually as buyers come forward, though they’ve advertised a preference for selling all the commercial buildings together.
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