Does Minneapolis Need a New Tallest Building? (Ada: fit in, buy)

[knke0204]

It's a changin' of the times. Many offices are downsizing -- both in the actual amount of space they need, and employees. People can work from home and remotely, thus needing less space. Plus rent on square footage downtown is very expensive. Plus parking is a pain. But, being downtown in a big city is great for status -- both for individuals and industry. The economic collapse hasn't helped. Surely there will be a swing upwards, creating a higher demand for office/retail/residential space downtown, but I don't think it will be soon. Like others have mentioned, there is a ton of open space downtown used just for parking at peak hours, resulting in ugly vacant lots during off-hours (like a parking lot full of cars isn't ugly).

The three big guys downtown now are all around 775-795 ft. Sometimes the skyline looks majestic - From the north and south - but not so big from the east and west. The skyline has changed a lot since the early 1990s, with another giant step forward in the early 2000s. Infilling vacant lots with some mid-rises (15-30 stories) is almost more important than a giant tall.

[MPLS_TC]

Originally Posted by City Data Guy

I don't know if Minneapolis can make a mark on a global scale unless its population is at least one million. But, yeah, I think a new tallest building would be cool. But like others have said, it probably doesn't NEED one.

there are 3 million on the metro. who cares about the city population. miami, san francisco, and atlanta are all very global and have less then a million people.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

Many people don't want to work in a giant skyscraper since 9/11.

Do we know this for a fact.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by knke0204

It's a changin' of the times. Many offices are downsizing -- both in the actual amount of space they need, and employees. People can work from home and remotely, thus needing less space. Plus rent on square footage downtown is very expensive. Plus parking is a pain. But, being downtown in a big city is great for status -- both for individuals and industry. The economic collapse hasn't helped. Surely there will be a swing upwards, creating a higher demand for office/retail/residential space downtown, but I don't think it will be soon. Like others have mentioned, there is a ton of open space downtown used just for parking at peak hours, resulting in ugly vacant lots during off-hours (like a parking lot full of cars isn't ugly).

The three big guys downtown now are all around 775-795 ft. Sometimes the skyline looks majestic - From the north and south - but not so big from the east and west. The skyline has changed a lot since the early 1990s, with another giant step forward in the early 2000s. Infilling vacant lots with some mid-rises (15-30 stories) is almost more important than a giant tall.

In short, there is no demand for skyscrapers anymore.

[ManBearPig1]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

By the way, though it did tick down ever so slightly this year, the vacancy rate in Minneapolis is still almost 20%. I don't think there's any demand for this here right now.

As others have mentioned, it wouldn't need to be office. Residential vacancy is at historic lows. However, the city is (hopefully) getting the Nicollet Residences and the 1368 Lasalle project. Will be interesting what the residential market is like in a year or so once a lot of the projects currently in the pipeline come online. If the residential vacancy rates stay low in the face of all the new units, I could see a very large residential project (or mix-used project with a residential component) happening.

[ManBearPig1]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

In short, there is no demand for skyscrapers anymore.

The problem is, the city turned so many great old buildings into parking lots. As a result, there's tons of room for infill in the city. Once those lots get built up, there's nowhere to go but up. In the meantime, we just have to hope that what does get built is done so as to be an asset that will help fuel future growth.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by ManBearPig1

As others have mentioned, it wouldn't need to be office. Residential vacancy is at historic lows. However, the city is (hopefully) getting the Nicollet Residences and the 1368 Lasalle project. Will be interesting what the residential market is like in a year or so once a lot of the projects currently in the pipeline come online. If the residential vacancy rates stay low in the face of all the new units, I could see a very large residential project (or mix-used project with a residential component) happening.

I just thought of something. It could be like the Taipei 101 building, with all of those shops.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by ManBearPig1

The problem is, the city turned so many great old buildings into parking lots. As a result, there's tons of room for infill in the city. Once those lots get built up, there's nowhere to go but up. In the meantime, we just have to hope that what does get built is done so as to be an asset that will help fuel future growth.

In short, it inadvertently created more room by destroyed historical buildings, and then it was taken over.

[iNviNciBL3]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

I just thought of something. It could be like the Taipei 101 building, with all of those shops.

Good idea! reminds me of the at&t tower... much larger of course
http://s3-media2.ak.yelpcdn.com/bpho...M5n3NMYw/l.jpg

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by iNviNciBL3

Good idea! reminds me of the at&t tower... much larger of course
http://s3-media2.ak.yelpcdn.com/bpho...M5n3NMYw/l.jpg

But it can be made along the same lines as Taipei 101. If the cards are worked out right, it would be possible to have the nation's largest mall be a skyscraper.