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Re: City Center

Posted: September 9th, 2013, 9:58 pm
by TroyGBiv
Wow horrible! I thought I was looking at City Center but it was the one in South Africa!

Re: City Center

Posted: September 10th, 2013, 8:10 am
by min-chi-cbus
^Ditto! It may be almost the exact same scale as well -- 730 feet tall and ~850K SF (although I assumed the Multifoods Tower was over 1M SF).

Re: City Center

Posted: September 10th, 2013, 8:58 am
by Viktor Vaughn
Last week I noticed the northeast corner of City Center (with the sealed-off-from-the-dangerous-world Office Depot) was blockaded with a construction fence. Could it be that Office Depot plans to finally open up to the Corner of Sixth and Nicollet?

Re: City Center

Posted: September 17th, 2013, 7:23 pm
by John
When I was at the Nicollet Mall renovation presentations at The Guthrie, I had a chance to speak with representatives of Shorenstein Properties who own City Center. They are planning a major upgrade of The Nicollet Mall facade which will occur in the next one to two years! :D :D :D :D

Re: City Center

Posted: September 17th, 2013, 8:01 pm
by Aville_37
Great news - if only it would happen sooner! I really wish they'd add a restaurant on the street level facing Nicollet.

Re: City Center

Posted: September 17th, 2013, 9:04 pm
by Silophant
I'll be happy if they just add windows on the street level facing the mall.

Re: City Center

Posted: September 17th, 2013, 11:27 pm
by Jenny on the Block
Target did a major remodel of their office spaces in the tower over the past few years. When I worked there, the building was affectionately known as "Shitty Center"- check out the decades-old brown and gold Christmas decor when the season rolls around.

Re: City Center

Posted: September 19th, 2013, 1:54 pm
by TroyGBiv
That 's funny - I had forgotten we called it that Shitty Center! Surprisingly - if they just put glass around the base it would be 100% better. They would see significant improvement if they turned the stores to be street facing. It was a fortress in 1980's when it opened.

Re: City Center

Posted: September 20th, 2013, 12:28 pm
by Avian
When the Multifoods Tower went up there was an immediate howl of disgust. I remember an architect from SOM saying back then that "in 10 years when it is surrounded by other 50-story buildings you won't even notice it."

My, what a resounding defense of their own work! :P

Re: City Center

Posted: September 20th, 2013, 12:46 pm
by mattaudio
In other professions and sectors, don't companies come up with subsidiaries with separate brand identities to take on work that compromises their upmarket brands? Surprised SOM put their name on some of this stuff.

Re: City Center

Posted: September 20th, 2013, 11:04 pm
by John
When the Multifoods Tower went up there was an immediate howl of disgust. I remember an architect from SOM saying back then that "in 10 years when it is surrounded by other 50-story buildings you won't even notice it."

My, what a resounding defense of their own work! :P
That's almost unbelievable he said that, but I believe it. There is some truth in what he said though. The urbane Wells Fargo building does tame the tower somewhat in the skyline. I remember there was also much criticism of the street level fortress facade when it was built. Now 30 years later we're still feeling its negative impact.

Re: Minneapolis & St. Paul Fantasies and Speculations

Posted: January 7th, 2014, 4:36 pm
by PhilmerPhil
Great news about the City Center renovation.
Am I missing something? I didn't know that there were any plans to renovate in the works.

Re: Minneapolis & St. Paul Fantasies and Speculations

Posted: January 7th, 2014, 10:21 pm
by MplsSteve
If any City Center renovations are made, I hope they would consider an outdoor skyway stair connection like the one that was proposed for the IDS block. City Center is really where something like this is needed, not IDS.

Re: City Center

Posted: January 8th, 2014, 4:50 pm
by Nick
http://shorenstein.com/portfolio/invest ... ty?id=6299
Shorenstein intends to enhance the Property with physical improvements to the lobby and entrances, upgrading building systems, replacing the roof, and other base building work.

Re: City Center

Posted: January 12th, 2014, 4:56 pm
by at40man
Designed by the world-renowned architectural firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the office tower is an impressive granite structure with recessed windows forming an attractive grid pattern.
Thanks for the laugh! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: City Center

Posted: January 12th, 2014, 5:06 pm
by Minneboy
I've always heard of ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE but never the negative.

Re: City Center

Posted: January 12th, 2014, 6:56 pm
by John
Despite the ludicrous comments about the architecture, Shorenstein was no fool when they bought this property. This office tower has remained almost 100% leased for years. Personally, I really don't care so much about the tower. When they redo the base and open it up and add some better retail along Nicollet Mall, I'll be a happy camper. :)

Re: City Center

Posted: January 13th, 2014, 9:55 am
by bubzki2
Is there any chance that they'd consider maybe adding some lights on the redone roof? It really wouldn't take much to make this building at least presentable. Personally, I'd like to see a new crown go up top, but that's probably not going to happen. Even just a light bar around the top would look so much better - and now might be the time with All-Star game coming up so soon. It's ridiculously visible from Target Field.

Re: City Center

Posted: January 13th, 2014, 10:00 am
by trkaiser
I think there's a good chance of that. Some companies have been getting creative on renovating their ugly bunker skyscrapers of this mold. I am hoping for a Block E level of enhancement on the Nicollet side, and some subtle accent lighting would help it fit in with our increasingly lively night skyline. I'm less optimistic about what they'll do on the north and south sides (6th/7th)...

Re: City Center

Posted: January 13th, 2014, 10:18 am
by MplsSteve
I think any restaurant would have a much better chance of success in the old Forum space if they gave it more streetfront presence. Even with signage and awnings, it really tends to get lost and overlooked. It would be wonderful if they could design a facade for the space that would reflect the interior design.