The weak economy may have pushed up the overall vacancy rate for downtown Minneapolis office buildings, but a stepped-up workforce in a few key buildings boosted skyway traffic to 10-year highs in some areas, according to the latest survey by Pedestrian Studies. The Minneapolis consulting firm measures downtown foot traffic each fall for an annual report used by property owners and managers to determine lease rates and promote office and retail space.

The report showed a 4 percent increase in overall daily volume of pedestrian traffic at 10 skyway locations measured in 2008 and 2009. That follows a 4 percent drop at the same locations between 2007 and 2008.

Pedestrian Studies owner Peter Bruce attributed some of the gains to new tenants moving into 50 South Sixth Street, Renaissance Square and the Capella Tower.

As in 2008, the highest daily volumes last fall were recorded on skyways linking City Center to Macy's and Gaviidae Common. Another busy location was the Northstar Center food court escalator connecting the ground floor of the building to the skyway. Bruce said half the retail locations involved in the skyway study saw traffic increases from the previous year.

Meanwhile, a lagging consumer economy is the likely reason for a drop in sidewalk traffic counts on the south end of Nicollet Mall, Bruce said. Traffic on the north end near the light-rail station at 5th Street and Nicollet stayed about the same. Bruce said he expected traffic along Nicollet will increase this year because of the opening of Target Field and the North Star commuter-rail/Hiawatha light-rail connection at the Target Field Transit Hub, which began operating late last year. Pedestrian Studies estimates Nicollet Mall traffic volume near 5th Street will increase at least 10 percent in 2010.

Tenants on the move The Twin Cities' overall office market continues to struggle with vacancies, but there's an ongoing game of musical chairs as companies relocate.

Chicago-based UGL Equis Corp. recently moved its Twin Cities office to the Accenture Tower at 333 S. 7th St., relocating from 800 LaSalle Av. S.

UGL Equis, a commercial real estate firm, leased 4,000 square feet in the 650,000-square-foot Accenture Tower.

Meanwhile, Apogee Enterprises recently announced plans to relocate its headquarters from one location to another in Bloomington. The company, which manufactures glass products for the construction industry, will move to Two MarketPointe at 4400 W. 78th St. in August. Its headquarters now is at 7900 Xerxes Av. S.

Apogee will occupy 13,000 square feet at its new location at Two MarketPointe, boosting the 242,000-square-foot building's occupancy to 46 percent. Ryan Companies developed the eight-story office building in 2008. It's anchored by the Twin Cities office of CB Richard Ellis, which occupies about 73,000 square feet.

Susan Feyder • 612-673-1723