Two Developers Compete for St. Cloud City Hall Lot Near Lake George

(KNSI) – Two developers with local ties are competing to build on the empty lot between St. Cloud City Hall and Lake George.

The St. Cloud Economic Development Authority meets Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. at to consider picking a preferred developer for the 3.27-acre site at 1201 7th Street South. The lot has been vacant since 2023, when the city tore down two wings of the former Tech High School to make way for housing.

Torborg Builders is proposing two market-rate apartment buildings with more than 110 units and underground parking. The St. Cloud company, owned by Timothy and Stephen Torborg, says it has built more than 2,500 housing units over 45 years, including Kensington Apartments in St. Cloud and Mississippi Lofts in Sauk Rapids. Torborg would build, own and manage the property, with groundbreaking planned for spring 2027 and completion in fall 2028.

Doyenne Development is pitching a mix of housing and entertainment. Its plan includes a five-story building with 71 homes, from studios to two-bedroom townhomes, plus a restaurant and entertainment building with a rooftop deck, a pocket park and a 120-stall parking lot. The company calls the commercial piece an “eater-tainment” destination meant to pull people from Lake George across 12th Avenue and onto the site.

Doyenne founder Claire VanderEyk graduated from Tech High School, inside the building that now serves as city hall. Her Minneapolis firm launched in 2024, but she has worked on more than 1,400 housing units across the Midwest at previous companies. Her team includes AWH Architects, which designed the Avivo Village shelter in St. Cloud, and Greiner Construction.

The biggest difference between the two plans may be money. Doyenne says up front that its project can’t be built with private financing alone and would need help from the city. That could include tax increment financing, which uses a project’s future property taxes to help pay for it, a break on the land or utility fees, and additional funding to close the gap. Torborg’s proposal does not mention any public assistance.

Choosing a developer would not lock in a final design. The city plans to spend the rest of the year negotiating a development agreement, with the land sale and construction expected to begin in 2027. The site would also need to be rezoned, since it is currently zoned for single-family and two-family homes.

The corner of the property along Division Street is not part of the deal. The city has already approved plans for a Gate City Bank on that piece of land.

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