urbanMSP

They've been off for well over a year now. The interior of Gaviidae I is one of the most beautiful buildings downtown. I hope they're not gone for good. The level of custom detailing and finishes is still amazing 20 some years later.

They've been off for well over a year now. The interior of Gaviidae I is one of the most beautiful buildings downtown. I hope they're not gone for good. The level of custom detailing and finishes is still amazing 20 some years later.

It will never be able to be replicated and it is one of Cesar Pelli's best interiors. They need to proceed with great respect and caution with any alterations.

They can tone down the mallishness, but I was hoping they could keep some elements like the multi-level fountains.

They've been off for well over a year now. The interior of Gaviidae I is one of the most beautiful buildings downtown. I hope they're not gone for good. The level of custom detailing and finishes is still amazing 20 some years later.

It will never be able to be replicated and it is one of Cesar Pelli's best interiors. They need to proceed with great respect and caution with any alterations.

Agree! Rumors are they may also replace the glass brick stairs and floor tiles. Ugh.

We need a Nordstrom and an H&M to draw people downtown. Then, all the other retailers will come.

Unlike Neiman, Nordstrom will do well. Neiman was just too high end and pretentious for Minneapolis; their cheapest pair of shoes could easily cost you $300-400. But the price point for Nordstrom would fit well with the downtown Minneapolis market.

They also need to hire cops to patrol the stores and the skyway, like Whole Foods and Lund's do, so that people can feel safe shopping downtown.

Here's some new buildings getting a breath of fresh air.
http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2014 ... ve-Project
EDIT: Make that old buildings.

Biz Journal story about Walgreens possibly replacing Saks Off 5th. These flagship-style Walgreens stores can actually be pretty great. The ones I've been to typically feature a lot of beer and wine, which seems like it might be tricky to do here given our liquor laws. Regardless, I know a lot of folks want Nicollet to have more destination retail but this kind of store will likely be pretty useful both to office types and all the new residents at places like Nic on 5th and Soo Line.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... ce-on.html

Awesome news on the flagship Walgreens. I have been to ones in Chicago and Las Vegas and they are really nice. I have missed the Walgreens on the north side of Nic that closed a number of years ago. This proposed store is close enough to all the new residential on the north and still close to the core downtown. This will really bring fresh energy to the north half of Nic.

i agree. preferable to the saks outlet.

Some might bemoan the loss of another traditional retailer downtown, but it's hard for me to be too broken up about this. Clearly Saks wasn't doing well, hence the downgrade to Saks Off Fifth. The writing was on the wall for the downtown location when Saks was announced as the anchor tenant of the new Eagan Outlet Mall.

Without a doubt, the new Walgreens will have more people flowing in and out of its doors than a dying department store. This opens up redevelopment possibilities for the existing Walgreens a few blocks down. Either the building could attract a restaurant/retailer or be torn down for redevelopment. It's a prime spot, so I doubt it will remain vacant for long.

Overall, I view this as a lateral move, at the very least. But that could turn into a huge win with whatever replaces the current Walgreens. Heck, if the new Walgreens has amazing street frontage with more windows and multiple doors, that would be a win in itself.

I knew they would leave once the new one opened in Eagan. If something is moving in right away and making the space nice, I am okay with it. Still sad to see more retail leave (poorly maintained as it was)...but downtown has been going the way of service oriented retail only for a long time. Oddly enough, I have always heard that Off Fifth did pretty well.

It seems to me that they could do well downtown in a smaller, more typical size store. I have always though that stores like them, Nordstrom Rack, DSW, and such would be a good fit for downtown. Target and Marshalls seem to do well. I wonder what this will mean for the few remaining retailers surrounding. I think this Walgreens could be a pretty big draw like Target is...which could be good. I wonder if Banana and Gap will stick around.

Super! The flagship Walgreens are super nice and the company doesn't seem to spare expense on quality design/materials. I've been to several in Chicago - the one on State, in Boystown and one in Wicker Park which was formerly a bank. The current Walgreens on Nicollet is so out-dated. Hopefully they open up the exterior of Gaviidae and include more windows, etc. Just curious about how they are going to approach the interior of the mall.

Walgreen's will be wonderful here, it will certainly attract a lot more foot traffic. It will definitely be a lot nicer than the current store.

Definitely love the idea of Walgreens getting a bigger and better space. I loved visiting the flagship in Chicago. It was a spectacular space with the right mix of convenience and every day goods.

I do wonder how this dynamic will play out/affect Target. Presumably this will be skyway connected in a way similar to how Target is, meaning that there will be two general merchandise places for the working crowd to visit separated by only two blocks. Sure, the Targetrons will keep on going, but when I worked on the eastern end of skyway-connected downtown, a group of us would walk over to Target nearly every day to grab a snack, something we needed for after the work day, or just stretch our legs. Walgreens would be slightly closer. I imagine a decent chunk of downtown would fall under similar circumstances.

The best news about this project is it will hopefully open up the current Walgreen's site to be redeveloped and/or renovated. It's one of the worst looking properties on Nicollet Mall.

I don't know that the existing Walgreens building is that bad. It needs a little TLC, no doubt, but it's also one of our best opportunities to add some more doors onto Nicollet Mall (which is what the urbanists demand). Do we know what the story with the upper floor of this building is?

I don't know that the existing Walgreens building is that bad. It needs a little TLC, no doubt, but it's also one of our best opportunities to add some more doors onto Nicollet Mall (which is what the urbanists demand). Do we know what the story with the upper floor of this building is?

It was a restaurant called "The Magic Pan" back in the early 80's. Not sure if it empty or occupied at this time.

Wasn't it also a really popular asian restaurant at one time after that?

A reporter at the Pioneer Press says a spokesperson from Saks told her they're looking for another downtown Minneapolis location. Perhaps this is just downsizing?

https://twitter.com/nancyngotc/status/4 ... 0251886595