It's not going to tower over the Foshay. It's not going to be the site of yet another downtown Minneapolis hotel, either.
While grand plans for the former TCF Bank building in downtown Minneapolis have been abandoned, the firm marketing the renovated 801 Marquette Avenue has released renderings to show what is coming.
Part of the improvements to the 130,000-square-foot, four-story building will be opening up the space and adding window to let in more light.
"801 will combine the look and feel of a converted North Loop office building, with all the added services, amenities, parking and skyway convenience that comes with being in the core of downtown Minneapolis," said Mark McCary, senior vice president at CBRE, in a statement.
CBRE is responsible for marketing the property for lease. The building will be ready for tenants by April. There is potential for the 801 building to be renamed for a tenant that takes up a lot of space.
A large component of the improvements is a five-story atrium that connects the 801 building to the adjacent 17-story TCF Tower and the parking ramp below. Now, the atrium is mostly dead space with an escalator that leads to the skyway. The new atrium will be refashioned into a version of a hotel lobby with seating and a food and drinks vendor, which is in the process of being chosen.
The buildings will also gain a new outdoor rooftop terrace, a bike storage space and a fitness center for tenants to share. In the larger tower, work on the vacant space has already started, with concrete floors exposed and ceilings opened up.
Franklin Street Properties, a real estate investment trust based in Wakefield, Mass., owns the building, the taller office tower and ramp. Two years ago when TCF Financial Corp. announced it would move its more than 1,000 workers from Minneapolis to Plymouth, Franklin Street kicked around redevelopment ideas.
After TCF Bank's lease expired in January, Franklin Street proposed demolishing the four-story building and replacing it with a 50-story tower that would have been a combination of hotel, offices and apartments. The group decided against the ambitious plan this past spring after a cost analysis showed it would not be profitable.
