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Memo - Second Street Station (Hopkins Arches)MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor and Hopkins City Council Members FROM: Kersten Elveru ctor of Planning & Development DATE: August 8, 2008 SUBJECT: Second Street Station (Hopkins Arches) Tour Planning & Economic Development Jim Soderberg will provide a tour of the former Hopkins Arches property on Tuesday, August 12, 2008. Please meet at the 1015 building, in the rental office which is unit #115 at 6:00 p.m. Attached is an article about Mr. Soderberg and his experience in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. S BROOKLYN PARK * MARCH 13, 2008 75¢ Vol. 52, No. 38 In the Community, With the Community, For the Community www.mnSun.com BILL JONES • `:jiti` r) WSPA - : . L James Soderberg shows off some of the notice and praise his work has garnered in the Melrose Gates Apartment offices Friday. March 7. in Brooklyn Center. (For more photos, visit our online Photo Gallery at www.mnSun.com.) `My company can turn BP and BC around' Landlord James Soderberg is changing the local rental scene, one fli p at a time NATALIE SPRAY • FIA ?x N' °?!'irr James Soderberg's start in the apart ment management industry wasn't intentional, but the effect he's having on the rental scene in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center is quite calculated. Soderberg graduated from St. Thomas University with a B.S. in marketing man- agement in 1986. He was working to get a financial planning company started, when his parents asked him to help man- age the family's 54 -unit building at Highway 100 and Minnetonka Boulevard in St. Louis Park. He filled the 14 vacant units in three months and got rid of the manager and maintenance staff, doing all the jobs himself. Now, he is celebrating 20 years as president of Soderberg Apartment Specialists, a real estate company which owns about a dozen Minnesota rental properties and manages six of them, totaling about 725 units. Three of those properties are in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. SAS is looking to acquire its third Brooklyn Park complex. Camelot 0 Apartments. where Soderberg plans to continue his rehab process. A crime study conducted in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center last swnmer named poverty and high rental housing populations as factors contributing to the rise in violent crime there. The biggest problem in any city can be its apartment complexes. Soderberg said. The issue is magnified in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center because there are so many older rental build- ings. he said. SODERBERG: TO PAGE 25A The buildings had the two highest crime rates among apartment com- plexes in the city in 1997. A drop in the city's multi - housing crime in 1998 and 1999 was attributed to new ownership at the complexes, according to a report prepared by Brooklyn Park Police Lt. Laura Johnson in 2000. "Sound management practices... can make a significant difference in the amount of crime in multi - family housing," she wrote. In 2007, Imperial Gates, a 66 -unit complex, had a crime per unit rate of 67 percent, barely above the city's 66 percent average, said BPPD Crime Analyst Jody Murphy. Garden Gates Apartments, a 96 -unit complex, had a 35 percent crime per unit rate last year, she said. At a time when many apartments in Brooklyn Park are vacant, Soderberg reports just one or two empty units at any given time. His properties rent slightly higher than unrenovated properties in the area. Soderberg FROM PAGE 1A "Almost no one knows their purpose. Mine seems to be helping clean up Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center," he said. "My company can turn Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center around in 10 years." From bad to best In 1995, SAS purchased Timberridge Apartments, 6401 Camden Ave., the most crime - ridden complex in Brooklyn Center, and com- pleted a $1.8 million renovation in four months. The 217 -unit complex had more than 800 emergency calls the year prior to the acquisition. Police would- n't respond to the site without a part- ner, and pizza parlors wouldn't deliver there. The Brooklyn Center Police Department gave Soderberg a bullet- proof vest when he began kicking out all the tenants. When Soderberg was done with the site, there were 800 rental applica- tions, and he turned away 600. Now named Melrose Place Apartments, the complex "isn't even on our radar screen," said Brooklyn Center Police Chief Scott Bechtold. For a complex that size, there are minimal calls, and most are service - related, not because of violent crime, he said. Part of Soderberg's success can be attributed to the company's manage- ment style. To rent one of his apart- ments. tenants must have a high credit score. no problems in their rental his- tory and no gross misdemeanors on their record. It's hard work attracting a good ten- ant. but "I bribe them with amenities." Soderberg said. SAS complexes feature new appli- ances. pools, fitness centers, coinless laundry. tanning, remote controlled garages, screened -in balconies and more. Results mirrored in BP Soderberg went on to repeat his suc- cess with two apartment complexes in Brooklyn Park - Brookdale Estates (now Imperial Gates, 7449 Imperial Drive N.) and Park Gardens (now Garden Gates, 6390 Douglas Drive N.). On the horizon "People see me as a risk taker, but I just do the same thing over and over," Soderberg said. Still, his next "flip" will be bigger than others. Camelot Apartments, 7540 Jersey Ave. N., Brooklyn Park, is a 92 -unit complex. The one- and two- bedroom apartments rent between $600 and $700 per month. The complex has a 101 percent crime per unit rate. meaning essential- ly each unit had one crime or nuisance call in 2007, Murphy said. "Compared to Melrose Gates, it's a walk in the park." Soderberg said. The property is "very tired." and hasn't been updated much since it was built. he said. Soderberg wants to invest more than $1 million in the complex. giving units a higher -level finish with granite countertops and stainless steel appli- ances, he said. Renovations should be completed this fall if all goes as planned, he said. I kind of fell into it I guess." Soderberg said. "It went from chang- ing apartments, to neighborhoods. and now it's cities." Comment 011 this story at our website, www.mnsun.com.