urbanMSP

Those tenant improvements will definitely make a difference, but man, the building owner has got to do something about the main entrance too: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.977462, ... D_NPcA!2e0

If there were ever a place for a big staircase or something connecting up to the skyway level outside, this could be it. It would involve tearing off the some of the building facade, which would be nice.

Gah, even if they just copied Marriott's glass facade and continued it along 7th Street towards the corner, that would help tremendously. Huge bummer that Shorenstein isn't doing anything. Gonna be a lot harder to do once you have tenants in there...

Well, I guess it makes business sense for Shorenstein not to invest any money into upgrading since they intend to sell the property. Having these new tenants makes everything look good on the surface for potential buyers. But just wait a few years. I doubt the tenants will last long here. The poor design will come back to haunt whomever owns the complex. And it will continue to hinder Nicollet Mall's success as a pedestrian friendly shopping street. This will go on and on and on.....

What's the most they would do and still classify it as "minor changes"? Maybe add some large window displays? (along with opening up the corners)

I would guess Winter 2016 means more like November 2016, unfortunately. Remember, they've got a lot more to do with their space than Sports Authority does.

Technically, November is fall. Winter is Dec. 20ish - March 20ish... Which is why I figured "winter 2016" meant a year from now. A Year is a long time. Look how much of Marq4 has been done in 6 months!

I'm hoping it's not Dec. of 2016 they're talking about.

I thought it was already announced it would be April 2016?

I thought it was already announced it would be April 2016?

That would seem likely. But again, technically, April is not Winter.

I hope I'm wrong about it 'Winter 2016' being November (or December). But, it's apparently going to take 7-9 months for Sports Authority to open, starting from a blank space.

Before Saks can open, it has to build out nearly twice as much space, which will take longer, though not twice as long. But before they can do that, they have to put in an elevator and escalator, or at least have the heavy work done, even if they can do the finishing touches concurrently with the retail buildout. And before they can do that, they have to rip out four commercial kitchens and all the extra utility hookups those entail. And, unless Leeann Chin and Baja Sol really got the short end of the stick on their negotiations, they can't do that until the new restaurant spaces are ready, which haven't been started yet. To me, that seems like more than 12-13 months worth of work, but less than 20-24. So... we'll see, I guess.

I asked Kris, the retail manager for City Center, and she said we were right. It's still coming in April 2016.

I email Councilman Frey and asked if City Center was going to take off the concrete siding on the Nicollet side. He said that they would rework the first floor windows but didn't say if they were going to try to do the facade on the 2nd and 3rd floors... Do you have any knowledge if they are going to do a bigger facelift on the Nicollet side. I wish that they could remove some of the horrible concrete panels.

Those tenant improvements will definitely make a difference, but man, the building owner has got to do something about the main entrance too: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.977462, ... D_NPcA!2e0

If there were ever a place for a big staircase or something connecting up to the skyway level outside, this could be it. It would involve tearing off the some of the building facade, which would be nice.

Gah, even if they just copied Marriott's glass facade and continued it along 7th Street towards the corner, that would help tremendously. Huge bummer that Shorenstein isn't doing anything. Gonna be a lot harder to do once you have tenants in there...

Even the way those doors open scream "don't come in here!".

The reason Saks will take a lot longer to move in is because they can't start any work until the current tenants move to their new locations. It'll probably be mid summer before the two restaurants are set up on the other side on the second floor.

I have a feeling that the side entrance will be reworked with Saks moving in. The whole feel of the first floor on the inside will change as Saks will probably replace all the walls with glass so that you can see into the store. But the building will feel a lot more inviting once the corner entrance opens up again. I'm not excited that it will open into Sport Authority, but I can see a lot of people using that as the main entrance to the building from the street.

Some sort of surveying going on in City Center between the escalator to 3rd floor and the southern escalators from 1st to 2nd. Anyone know why they would need to do a survey of that space? Doesn't seem like much if any work would be going on there for the upcoming additions.

Just walked by a guy measuring dimensions of the empty storefront that will become Leeann Chin. Guess they'll be staying condition there soon.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... stein.html

Sold for $280 million

Bought by a Los Angeles investment group? I can see why City Center caught their attention, it reminds them of LA.

Even with the upheaval at Target, the building has a long term lease and some of the best floor plate layout as far as the fewest obstructions in rentable floor space in the city. For that reason alone they would have little problems with renting or subleasing any vacant square footage.

One could wish that they would do some exterior work, but I think that boat has sailed now that Sak and Sport Authority are already working on their interior layouts.

I hate City Center so much.

Even with the upheaval at Target, the building has a long term lease and some of the best floor plate layout as far as the fewest obstructions in rentable floor space in the city. For that reason alone they would have little problems with renting or subleasing any vacant square footage.

One could wish that they would do some exterior work, but I think that boat has sailed now that Sak and Sport Authority are already working on their interior layouts.

Yes, There is really no incentive for the landlord to do much improvement to the exterior. Maybe the city can designate this as an historical landmark as one of the best examples of poor urban design in Minneapolis during the 20th century

This is its best angle, though.