The Sale of 33 South Sixth Street and City Center By Tara Steinkraus Cushman & Wakefield | NorthMarq Member of the Communications Committee After having been absent from the Minneapolis market for many years, Shorenstein Realty Services came back on November 20, 2012, with the purchase of 33 South Sixth Street and City Center. The complex was previously owned and managed by Brookfield Properties. Nathan Reed retained his presence at the buildings and was promoted to General Manager at the time of the sale. He had been working for Brookfield since 2004 and had been involved with both buildings, making for a smooth transition. His staff includes an assistant property manager as well as two tenant service administrators. The buildings total approximately 1.6 million square feet with Target being the predominant tenant in the office tower accounting for 73% of the rentable space.
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to “open up the entrances and make it more vibrant and inviting to give retail leasing a kickstart.” The renovations are scheduled to begin in 2014 and will include bringing more life to the mall atrium through updated wayfinding and a new façade with more glass/windows.
...one of many recent validations that Minneapolis is a desirable market.
Although the office tower is nearly fully occupied with less than 1% vacancy, Shorenstein has big plans to help lease the retail vacancies in City Center. Capsule Inc. was hired to rebrand City Center and give it a new logo. They want
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A softer look with updated artwork and a new directory will be given to the office tower lobby. One of the goals of the renovation is to bring more foot-traffic into the retail spaces. A major item challenging this goal continues to be the bus stop at Nicollet Mall and 7th Street. It’s one of
the busiest in the state because it serves as a transfer point for many routes in the downtown and surrounding Minneapolis neighborhoods. With approximately 3,800 passengers each weekday, the bus stop and immediate area become congested with riders and can be a hotbed for loitering and petty crime. This has a negative impact on leasing efforts for the adjacent retail spaces and management continues to work with Metro Transit to identify positive solutions to resolve the issue. Shorenstein is a privately owned real estate organization active nationally in high-quality office properties. They own and manage approximately 23.6 million square feet of office properties and are headquartered in San Francisco. They focus their investments mostly in downtown CBDs and they like Minneapolis’s live, work, play atmosphere. While approximately half of Shorenstein’s investments are currently in California, the light rail investments that are soon coming to fruition in the Minneapolis metro area are viewed as a benefit to boost future investments in our market. A local investment sales broker views the sale of 33 South Sixth Street and City Center as one of many recent validations that Minneapolis is a desirable market. Momentum has continued throughout 2013 with high profile sales such as RBC Plaza and IDS Tower. With companies like Shorenstein who had previously left the Minneapolis market and are now returning, the outlook of the Minneapolis CBD can be seen as promising. t
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October 2013
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BOMA Greater Minneapolis