Crews this week broke ground on a three-story upscale apartment complex in Mahtomedi that is being built on the site of the former Lakeside Club, which was featured in the movie “Fargo.”
City officials approved plans for the $14 million project at 10 Old Wildwood Road in 2022, but developers decided to “let it sit” for a few years because of construction costs and interest rates, said Greg Johnson, president and CEO of St. Paul-based Hearth Development and Nottingham Construction.
“We’ve been working on this since 2016,” he said. “We finally got everything aligned.”
The 39-unit rental complex – called Lakes of Mahtomedi — will feature a lower-level parking garage with 45 stalls; a golf simulator and a fitness center; a pet-wash area; office spaces for residents, and a third-floor party deck overlooking the 17-acre site, he said.
“Our goal is to make this a really first-class product,” he said. “We’ve got some really cool amenity spaces. We feel that there is a good target market of people who want to stay in the community, but don’t necessarily want the maintenance of the home or the yardwork or all the things that come with living in Minnesota.”
Company officials plan to start signing leases in November of December; the building is expected to open in April 2026, Johnson said. Rent prices have not yet been finalized, Johnson said; they are still working on rent analysis.
The Lakeside Club, which was shuttered in 2020 after about 60 years in operation, was demolished after a fire in the vacant building in 2022. The building achieved fame after it was featured in the movie “Fargo.” When Police Chief Marge Gunderson (Oscar-winner Frances McDormand) interviews a couple of prostitutes, Gunderson’s patrol car can be seen parked outside the club in the snow.
Johnson said the complex will pay homage to its “Fargo” fame and to the former Wildwood Amusement Park, which was located nearby. The complex’s community space will feature historic photos of the park, which operated from 1889 to 1932, Johnson said, and the third-floor party deck will feature photos of the Lakeside Club and “Fargo.”
“We’ve got some memorabilia that we were able to get from the previous owners of the Lakeside Club, so we’re definitely going to incorporate that feel into a couple of those community areas,” he said.
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