CASE STUDY: West River Commons, Minneapolis, Minnesota BY COREY ZEHNGEBOT 401 West River Commons is a 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m2) mixed-use multifamily project by the Lander Group, a Minneapolis-based development firm founded in 1984 by Michael Lander. Although the Lander Group had historically focused on smaller (two to 16 units), neighborhood infill projects, West River Commons represents the firm's first foray into larger-scale mixed-use development. With 53 market-rate rental units ranging in size from 800 to 2,450 square feet (74-228 m2), the project was attractively located on Lake Street, a main thoroughfare connecting Minneapolis to St. Paul. Targeting a "lifestyle renter," the project successfully tapped into a relatively new rental market with little competition in the area. Supplementing the 53 apartments were three 2,000-square-foot (186 m2) townhouses, and 8,000 square feet (743 m2) of retail space at the street level. The retail tenants include a neighborhood bistro, a coffee shop, and take-out pizza place. With its proximity to the Mississippi River and associated trail system, the ground-floor retail quickly became an important magnet for recreational users. SITE West River Commons is located on a 1.1-acre (0.45 ha) site on the north side of Lake Street, and immediately west of the Mississippi