RBC Plaza (former Gaviidae II)

[IllogicalJake]

Given that the city had to twist Centerpoint's arm to even get them to put in the required streetfront retail, I doubt there's going to be retail inside the building as well.

Do you mean in addition to the existing skyway retail? I'm not sure what else you mean by inside the building...

[mnmike]

There is no existing skyway retail in the Centerpoint building. That "building" is separate from the rest of the block. Silophant means there is not likely to be a skyway or any skyway level retail through that building...I agree.

If there is anywhere I would like to see a new skyway, it is probably here...Unfortunate that the space was sold off to office putting a dead end here when it was...I think it could have been a good retail spot pretty soon here! With it's proximity to all those new residents, I bet they could have signed some kind of 30k square foot retail anchor deal there (no, not a traditional dept store, but something like the Off Fifth City Center deal or the Walgreens Marquee nearby, or even something like LA Fitness). Oh well. Woulda coulda shoulda. It is now a private office building barrier (even if mainly psychologically) between the new residents and office workers to the north and the retail to the south.

[twincitizen]

Here is the initial plan for Nic on 5th showing the skyway back in place, where it was...

Interesting. I wasn't aware of that once-proposed connection over 5th. Even if built, I really doubt there ever would've been a direct connection down to the LRT platform from the skyway. Not only would stairs/elevator have taken up already tight space on the fairly narrow center platform, but the platforms are technically paid fare zones.

Safe to say that skyway is completely dead though with Centerpoint not having any retail/quasi-public space on the skyway level. Especially since they had to unwillingly convert ground floor space to retail, it would follow that they need to maximize their 2nd-level space for offices, and not leave room for a skyway corridor. Thinking back, it was so crazy that Centerpoint actually wanted to make the Neiman building 100% office space. They said the city was making them be an "unwilling landlord" by requiring retail space on the mall frontage.

If anything, the minimal amount of retail in Centerpoint's building, and renovation/displacement in the attached Gaviidae II ought to help put some pressure on Renaissance Square across the street. That retail space has been vacant way too long. To make a fun connection to the silliness going on in the rumors thread, retired_banker at one point claimed that Barney's New York would be in there, if not for "incompetent leasing agents" (which is funny/stupid when you look back on the whole situation).

[mnmike]

Interesting. I wasn't aware of that once-proposed connection over 5th. Even if built, I really doubt there ever would've been a direct connection down to the LRT platform from the skyway. Not only would stairs/elevator have taken up already tight space on the fairly narrow center platform, but the platforms are technically paid fare zones.

Well that was the plan with the initial station proposal, it's true. It was quicly cut out to save money. I believe the elevator would have been off to the side where Nic on 5th is (the station is more or less connected to the skyway system going east from here now by the Nic on 5th). Point is...connected or not, there had been a skyway at this location many many years...it was presumed until recently that it would be replaced at some point.

Here it is before it came down:
http://www.startribune.com/local/minnea ... 65922.html


It is crazy that Ren Sq space has been vacant so long... I get the feeling they are more interested in leasing to some sort of commercial office use than retail anyway.

[IllogicalJake]

Ah, I get it now. I considered Centerpoint as an RBC Plaza tenant more than a separate building, that's where I wasn't understanding.

[sushisimo]

It is crazy that Ren Sq space has been vacant so long... I get the feeling they are more interested in leasing to some sort of commercial office use than retail anyway.

I thought at one point, Olsen was considering moving there, but ultimately ended up at Ford Centre. It would be kinda nice to have a creative agency in there. Campbell Mithun is going in on the top floors of the refurbed 510 building, on the other side of Gaviidae II.

[at40man]

It sure would be nice if they redid the Renaissance Square facade on the first couple floors to what it looked like originally. I believe it was mangled beyond all relief in the past, leading to the oddly-proportioned 80s faux-historic facade we see now. Ugh.

James Lileks put together a piece on this building for his site.

[nickmgray]

I'm a bit sad that they didn't find a way to keep the jumping fountains. It also looks like Gaviidae has completely given up on it's waterfall fountain by filling the bottom with plants.

[at40man]

^Which is still a heckuva lot more than TCF Tower has done! That dead fountain in the brickyard is simply dreadful.

I took another walk through RBC today. Now that the finished are up it looks better -- but it is still a mishmash of styles and looks disjointed. The original floors, doors, and some other finishes still remain in stark contrast to the ugly acoustical panels on the lowered atrium ceiling.

[twincitizen]

It sure would be nice if they redid the Renaissance Square facade on the first couple floors to what it looked like originally. I believe it was mangled beyond all relief in the past, leading to the oddly-proportioned 80s faux-historic facade we see now. Ugh.

James Lileks put together a piece on this building for his site.

Interesting. I never would have guessed that those ground floor arches were not in the original design. Lileks calls it a "modernization", but it's almost the opposite - the arches actually give the building a more "classical" feel. (Sorry, I'm poorly-versed on architecture terms). I actually really dig the arches. He's right about the stupid bay window in the corner though - that ought to be replaced by doors no matter what goes in the building.

The weird thing about those Barney's rumors (even if they were total BS), or for any department store operation here is this: this is not a very large building. The available space on the ground floor is just 12,000 sf. CBRE shows floors 2 and 3 completely occupied. The new, smaller Saks OFF 5th is going to be 40,000 sf over two floors of City Center. Any actual department store would have to occupy a minimum of 3-4 floors in Renaissance Square, which just seems extremely unlikely in modern times - it simply isn't efficient. So long story short, I think any department store rumors for this building should be taken with a large grain of salt. It seems much more likely to be leased by someone interested in the 10,600 sf and 1,482 sf spaces on the ground floor. Upper levels seem highly likely to remain office. Question: is Renaissance Square skyway accessible (via 50 S 6th)?

CBRE features a nice photo of the building:


Hopefully they find a taker for the ground level soon...it's such a prime spot, especially with all of the improvements taking place around it, adding hundreds of workers (Xcel, Centerpoint) and hundreds of residents (Nic on 5th, 4Marq).

[sushisimo]

Question: is Renaissance Square skyway accessible (via 50 S 6th)?

It is. There is a little hallway in front of the convenience store in the 50 S. 6th building.

[mnmike]

I was pretty disappointed to see they have leased the big chunk of skyway level facing Nicollet to a big Ameriprise office. Walking through this and the wing that is still Gaviidae is pretty depressing. This wing has totally given up on retail...I hope as things start to turn around the other wing is able to maintain retail on the first two levels. I am pretty sure Radio Shack is closing (Are all of them?).

[nickmgray]

Radio Shack is closing a lot of stores, but our downtown location actually does fairly well compared to most of their stores. I hope the location stays and gets updated to its new retail concept that they launched in late 2013.

Edit: I guess I should read the latest news of the day before posting. Looks like Sprint and Amazon may be looking to buy Radio Shack's profitable locations. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/ ... Z720150203

[mattaudio]

Speaking of, if anyone actually has a reason to buy something at Radio Shack, I have a $10ish gift card you can have. I have literally found no reason to shop there in years. Seriously, PM me if you want it. I don't want to see it lost in bankruptcy/closing. On that note, if anyone wants a Bellanote gift certificate, it's yours

[xandrex]

Reading between the lines, this seems like less of keeping profitable locations and more snapping up real estate. This is a liquidation, with Sprint and Amazon sure to push out any of Radioshack's stuff. Especially Amazon, given the fact that they're in no small part a reason for Radioshack's decline.

I kind of wonder how our downtown store is doing "fairly well" unless they're appealing to the transit dependent who can't get out to places like Best Buy and/or don't use Amazon?

[mnmike]

Not that it is necessarily a huge loss...just another vacant space in that complex I am hoping can maintain some retail, but I am pretty sure it is closing...they had big clearance signs and it looked fairly low on stock when I walked by. Really, if they are going, there are only like 3 other places left in there that are not service retail/food.

[grant1simons2]

The basement is pretty nice. There's a really strange sculpture but the RBC Plaza sign is way cool.

WP_20150202_018 by grant.simons, on Flickr

They should re-do the floors though, they look awful lol

[sanguinic]

I walked through this morning, and meh. The way-too-patterned floors and some of the decorative elements from the original early-90s buildout remain, and they don't look good. (I love that sculpture, too; it was originally in the RBC Tower lobby).

[grant1simons2]

http://www.startribune.com/local/minnea ... 28111.html

I don't know how I missed this. Meet Minneapolis is opening a 5k sq ft information hub right off on Nicollet Mall. They hope to open it by Memorial Day.

[mnmike]

I think it was announced that they would be the retail space in Centerpoint when they agreed to add retail space...way back when. Better than nothing I guess.