Minneapolis City Center facts for kids
The inside of Minneapolis City Center in 2018
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| Location | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
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| Coordinates | 44°58′41″N 93°16′22″W / 44.97806°N 93.27278°W |
| Address | 40 South Seventh Street |
| Opening date | 1983 |
| Developer | Oxford Properties |
| Management | Ryan Companies |
| Architect | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill |
| No. of stores and services | 40 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Total retail floor area | 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 3 |
Minneapolis City Center, often called City Center, is a large shopping mall in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located on Nicollet Mall. The mall first opened its doors in 1983. It takes up the first three floors of the tall 33 South Sixth office building.
The famous architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed City Center. It has about 250,000 square feet of space for shops. The mall was built around an older restaurant called the Forum Cafeteria. City Center is also connected to the Marriott Hotel City Center. You can also walk to the Gaviidae Common shopping mall from here.
As of 2020, some main stores at Minneapolis City Center include Marshalls and Saks Off Fifth Avenue. Other big stores have been here in the past. These include Carson Pirie Scott, Donaldson's, and Montgomery Ward. The mall is also part of the Minneapolis Skyway System. This means you can walk to six other buildings without going outside! City Center has also been updated several times. Big changes happened in 2005 and again starting in 2019.
History of Minneapolis City Center
Minneapolis City Center opened in 1983. It is located between 6th and 7th Streets on Nicollet Mall. The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It uses the first three floors of the 33 South Sixth skyscraper. Work on the project started in December 1979. Lou DeMars, who led the Minneapolis City Council, helped get it started.
Building the mall cost about $37 million back then. This would be around $130 million today. A company from Canada, Oxford Properties, agreed to build it. They promised to pay the city back for buying the land. First, the city had to buy the land and clear the old buildings.
The first main store to open was a Donaldson's department store. It opened in August 1982, before the rest of the mall. Later, in 1986, Carson Pirie Scott bought Donaldson's. So, the store became a Carson Pirie Scott.
In 1993, Montgomery Ward took over some of the space. Parts of the old store were made into new spaces for shops. These new shops included Marshalls and smaller stores like Limited Express. Montgomery Ward closed its Minneapolis store in October 1997. In 1999, Office Depot opened in part of that space. In 2005, the mall had a big update that cost $15 million. A company called Shorenstein Properties bought Minneapolis City Center in 2012.
In 2015, Saks Fifth Avenue announced a new store. It was a clearance store called Saks Off Fifth Avenue. It moved from a nearby mall, Gaviidae Common. The new store opened on April 21, 2016. It took over the two-story space where Office Depot used to be. Office Depot had closed in 2014.
On October 9, 2015, Sports Authority opened a large store. It was on the south side of the mall. But less than a year later, this store closed. Many other Sports Authority stores across the country also closed. During Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, the empty Sports Authority space was used. It became a temporary office for National Football League staff. Other stores that have been in City Center include Allen Edmonds and Brooks Brothers.
In 2017, a local fancy clothing store called Len Druskin closed all its locations. This happened after a businessman named Marcus Lemonis bought the company.
In July 2018, there was an incident at the Marshalls store. It caused about $500,000 worth of damage. A month later, someone was arrested for it. In October 2018, a new restaurant called Fhima's opened. It took over a space that used to be a cafeteria.
Design and Location
Minneapolis City Center has a modern look. It also has parts that look like brutalist architecture. Some people think its outside looks like the nearby Riverside Plaza apartments. The mall was built to bring more shops to downtown Minneapolis. When it was built, it included the Forum Cafeteria restaurant. Some people thought the mall's outside looked "bland" or boring.
Below the shopping mall is a large parking garage. It has 687 parking spots. These spots are for people who work in the building.
Minneapolis City Center is a main spot for the Minneapolis Skyway System. This system lets people walk between buildings indoors. The mall connects to six other buildings. These include 50 South Sixth, 700 Nicollet, and Gaviidae Common. It also connects to Mayo Clinic Square and the Radisson Blu Minneapolis Downtown. Next to the mall is the Marriott Hotel City Center. This is the tallest hotel in Minneapolis. It was also designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and finished in 1983.
Future Plans
In June 2018, a buyer from another country bought Minneapolis City Center. They also bought the 33 South Sixth building next to it. The sale was for $320 million. This was a record for office buildings in Minnesota. A company from Minneapolis called Ryan Companies is now in charge of the mall.
Ryan Companies announced plans to update the mall. They want to make it easier to get to Nicollet Mall. On August 1, 2019, a $3 million renovation started. This work began on the east side of the mall. They started by removing some of the outside panels.
See also
In Spanish: Minneapolis City Center para niños
