An organization dedicated to increasing belonging and acceptance has a new place to call home.
In June 2024, the Queermunity Collective signed a seven-year lease for 11,000 square feet of office space on the second floor of the Bryant Building in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. The deal earned a 2025 CoStar Impact Award for lease of the year in Minneapolis-St. Paul, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
Queermunity's vision for its new space is to provide a social club, cafe, resource center, coworking space and member collaborative aimed at bringing Minneapolis' LGBTQ+ community together. The organization moved into its new home in October.
Queermunity's lease at The Bryant Building is one small step toward reinvigorating Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood, which has seen high levels of property vacancies and felt significant impacts from the pandemic, remote work and social unrest in the city.
About the project: The Bryant Building at 3032-3038 Hennepin Ave. is a two-story retail and office building in central Minneapolis, minutes from downtown. The property was built in 1923 and sits on a 0.37-acre lot with more than 30,000 square feet of leasable space. The building has been owned by Miami-based Elion Partners since 2015. The space includes a storefront entry, a private elevator, several single-stall, gender-neutral bathrooms, a kitchen, private offices, open collaborative workspace and natural light.
What the judges said: Judges praised the Queermunity Collaborative's lease for its ability to improve a declining neighborhood and the diversity of the area.
"The Queermunity lease is neither the largest of the year nor the priciest. It rises to the top for its impact, bringing positivity and reminding us why everybody should be going to Uptown," said Tony Strauss, senior vice president of retail services at Transwestern.
"Uptown has been hit hard by the events of the last five years. Bringing new leaders into the community will be critical for the neighborhood's healing process," added Brent Karkula, managing director at JLL.
They made it happen: Kate Gillette, senior vice president at Avison Young; Kai Thomsen, principal of Lee & Associates; Frank Hinck, owner of Lindee Construction; Hilary Otey, founder of Queermunity.