Aug. 17--The economic downturn and tight credit market continue to take a toll on sales activity for most types of commercial properties in the Twin Cities area -- and in some cases the falloff is more severe than in other parts of the country.

The dollar value of area office building sales fell 80 percent, to just $247 million, for the 12 months ended June 30, according to LoopNet, a San Francisco-based real estate research firm. That compares with a 65 percent decline in dollar value nationwide.

A drop in large office deals in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul appears to be the main reason for the big decline in the dollar total. LoopNet's figures showed a 2 percent increase from a year ago in the price per square foot of suburban office property sales.

Sales of industrial properties in the Twin Cities area also fared worse than in the country as a whole. The total dollar volume was off 75 percent from a year ago, compared with a 67 percent decline nationwide, LoopNet said.

The one bright spot in the local market was sales of multi-unit properties, where the dollar value rose 10 percent. That increase bucked the nationwide trend, where the dollar total fell by 75 percent. The price per unit of multi-unit buildings here increased 27 percent from a year ago, LoopNet said.

The relatively healthy local sales numbers were bolstered by sales of several large complexes, including Riverview at Upper Landing in St. Paul, which sold for $43.5 million; Uptown City Apartments in Minneapolis, which sold for $30.1 million; and Shadow Hills Estates in Plymouth, which went for $32.5 million.

Rainbow concept opens

Roundy's Supermarkets Inc. is expanding its footprint in the Twin Cities' suburbs with this week's opening of a Rainbow store at the West End, Duke Realty's new mixed-use development under construction in St. Louis Park.

The 55,000-square-foot store will be open for business Tuesday. Milwaukee-based Roundy's is letting people tour the store at a grand opening celebration at 4:30 p.m. today.

Roundy's has 31 other stores in the Twin Cities area, but has been underrepresented in the western suburbs, according to spokeswoman Vivian King. The new store is about 10,000 square feet smaller than a typical Rainbow supermarket and will have a heavier emphasis on prepared, "grab-and-go" items, she said. In addition to a salad bar, a large deli department and a pharmacy, the store will have a wine & spirits shop, a feature that appears aimed at grabbing customers who now shop at Trader Joe's and Byerly's outlets in St. Louis Park.

The new Rainbow is the first merchant to open at the West End, which eventually will have about 350,000 square feet of retail space. A hotel and 1.1 million square feet of office space also are planned for the project near Interstate 394 and Hwy. 100.

Susan Feyder --612-673-1723

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