The $97M overhaul of Target Center will “feature lots of glass, a metallic-looking facade and better connections" to downtown Minneapolis and Target Field, according to Eric Roper of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. A city council panel “viewed the draft images as they approved hiring Architectural Alliance and Sink Combs Dethlefs to design” the renovation. The city-owned Target Center, which opened in ‘90, was described by council members yesterday as an “anthill” and “perhaps one of the ugliest buildings in town.” Architectural Alliance has “played a role in many large civic projects” in Minneapolis, which includes the Univ. of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium. Project coordinators hope that “construction can begin next spring and possibly be complete” by Oct. ‘16. Coordinators “hope to hold events throughout the process.” But Minneapolis Assistant City Coordinator Jeff Johnson said that it “may be impossible during certain periods.” The new exterior designs “combat the fortress feel of the current building and aim to make it easier and more pleasant for pedestrians to get around.” The project's cost will be “split between the city ($48.5M), the team ($43M) and operator AEG ($5.5M).” The city is “also responsible for” $50M in ongoing capital improvements. Johnson said that the design contract will “likely be worth” around $6-8M (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/14).
FACE LIFT: In Minneapolis, Janet Moore notes business leaders, developers and political figures yesterday hailed the $400M Downtown East redevelopment as a “transformative project that will turn a now-desolate expanse into a bustling urban enclave that complements the new Vikings stadium” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/14).
