The Dayton's Project

[mnmike]

The new owner could totally turn the skyroom into a destination restaurant on top of their newly renovated office building...I think that would be a great idea. Could restore it back to it's heyday. I don't think they have anything that interesting planned though, sadly. Probably just an office building with some retail spaces at the bottom...basic. We will see.

[MNdible]

FWIW, I've heard lots of positive chatter from people who apparently have been let in on the plans. So, fingers crossed.

[Didier]

If only we had another sports team that needed a practice facility am I right?

[Didier]

Just throwing this out there, but one of the challenges with redevelopment here is the large floor plates / limited access to windows, right? If so, is there any precedent for converting the upper floors of a building like this into a movie theater? This location on the mall and just off the light rail would seemingly be a good one for a long-desired upscale downtown movie theater.

[dingo]

Would love to see something creative be done with the 8th floor space... Especially as it opens up to roof of parking garage!

[mattaudio]

Any way to open up light wells within the building? Could be a cool space with that, but at the expense of leasable s.f.

[MNdible]

There's a narrow, later addition that sits atop the original structure. I've wondered if that part of the structure might be demo'ed entirely, which would certainly free up some more options for cutting in some light wells.

Assuming that the original building is a cast concrete structure with two-way slabs, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to cut in light wells, especially if they're limited to a single structural bay.

The thing that will complicate this somewhat is fire/smoke separation. If you have a lightwell that's open to multiple floors, you're going to trigger some messy code considerations.

[seanrichardryan]

Most of the interior was originally daylit, it is not a complete fortress, though most windows are blocked on the interior. The floor plates in terms of access to outside wall aren't any larger that the IDS or multifoods. Elevators are along the interior of the block also. What will be most complicated will be updating egress & systems, I imagine it's a mish-mash of aged infrastructure.

[seanrichardryan]

Also, the rear portion of building really is 14 stories.

[seanrichardryan]

And another thing... this original Dayton's building seems to have no historic or landmark designations. That can't be right, can it?

[mister.shoes]

I'll confess: I never realized the auditorium was over the top of that parking ramp. I'd always wondered how the "8th floor" was so tall and why that dreadful hallway was so long. Now I get it.

[seanrichardryan]

Had lunch at the Oak Grill and made a pit stop in the ladies crapper on the 4th floor.



With most of the merchandise gone, it's easy to see how little has been updated since the 1990s.

[seanrichardryan]

Suit alleges Macy's pulled a fast one on potential buyer City Center Realty Partners. http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... d-now.html

Honestly they looked like a far better fit than 601Wcos.

[at40man]

Suit alleges Macy's pulled a fast one on potential buyer City Center Realty Partners. http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... d-now.html

Honestly they looked like a far better fit than 601Wcos.

Yeah, if the allegations are true, that just causes Macy's to sink even lower in my eyes.

I did find one sentence to be kind-of funny: "City Center also alleges that Macy’s didn’t disclose that the building had asbestos, a problem which will cost millions to fix."

I am honestly not surprised that building had asbestos. No one should be. Why wouldn't Macy's disclose something that a simple building inspection would uncover?

[twincitizen]

So will those who supposedly had some insider knowledge of City Center Realty Partners' plans be able to divulge what they had seen?

I thought I saw some folks on here as well as a few media people on Twitter claiming as such.

[Silophant]

Maybe they just assumed they would know. It's a building built in stages between the 1900s and the 1960s. Why would it be the one building from that timeframe that doesn't have asbestos?

[go4guy]

That doesn't matter. You still have to disclose that.

[Didier]

I thought I saw some folks on here as well as a few media people on Twitter claiming as such.

Nick Halter from the Business Journal was one of them. He said "it's much nore exciting than" what they proposed in St. Paul.

[at40man]

I thought I saw some folks on here as well as a few media people on Twitter claiming as such.

Nick Halter from the Business Journal was one of them. He said "it's much nore exciting than" what they proposed in St. Paul.

"Hockey-rink schmockey-rink -- we're bringing Heli-snowboarding to the heart of Downtown Minneapolis! "

[jtoemke]

So will those who supposedly had some insider knowledge of City Center Realty Partners' plans be able to divulge what they had seen?

I thought I saw some folks on here as well as a few media people on Twitter claiming as such.

Imagine Seattle Public Market meets urban mall with full building atrium cut from the floor plates and garage door like openings for summer. The video fly through is still password protected though.