Gaviidae Common

The first phase of Gaviidae Common opened in 1989 occupying the 5th to 7th Street blocks of Minneapolis' Nicollet Mall.[2][3] It was developed by Brookfield Asset Management, which managed Gaviidae Common from its opening in 1989 until September 2013.[4] Saks Fifth Avenue was the mall's sole anchor at the time of opening. Gaviidae Common II, containing a Neiman Marcus department store, occupied the first four floors and basement of the RBC Plaza office complex and features an underground parking garage with 700 spaces.[5] The first two levels of Gaviidae Common (referred to as Street Level and Skyway Level) contain the majority of the mall's leasable space, with approximately 349,756-square-foot (32,000 m²) of retail space.[2] In total, the center contains 443,000-square-foot (41,000 m²) of leasable space over its two blocks.[6]

The interior of Gaviidae Common I in 2007.

In January 2005, Saks Fifth Avenue vacated its 84,000-square-foot (7,800 m²) while retaining a 27,000-square-foot (2,500 m²) section for its Saks Off Fifth clearance store.[7] Neiman Marcus announced plans in July 2012 to close its 118,000-square-foot (11,000 m²) retail space by 2013 due to "underperforming" and the location's inability to achieve "long-term operational goals" for the chain.[8][9] After KBS Companies' acquisition of Gaviidae Common II in 2013, other plans were released to renovate and make improvements to both Gaviidae Common II and the neighboring RBC Plaza skyscraper. Following the vacancy left from Neiman Marcus, KBS expressed interest in turning the upper levels of the building into office tenants.[10] The shopping mall's food court – State Fare – was located on the fourth floor of Gaviidae Common II and featured national eateries such as Burger King, McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Taco John's. State Fare was closed and converted into additional office space for RBC Plaza. Costs for the repurposing of the food court were estimated at US$4 million and construction began after the restaurant tenants closed in October 2013.[11] Other renovations occurred in the basement level, where a fitness center and locker rooms were constructed for RBC Plaza employee usage.[12]

Nightingale Properties acquired Gaviidae Common I in 2013 for US$26.25 million. In October 2014, the company subdivided the building into six parts for resale. In December 2014, the company sold its 450-stall parking garage to Gaviidae Commons LLC, a partnership associated with InterPark from Chicago.[13] Saks Off Fifth closed on January 17, 2015, and relocated across the street to Minneapolis City Center.[14] Shortly after its closure, Walgreens began developing parts of the first and second floors where Saks Off Fifth Avenue once stood.[13] In June 2016, the YMCA purchased three floors of Gaviidae Common I for US$9.9 million, and resold a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m²) section on the third and fourth floors to United Properties, part of the space previously occupied by Saks.[1] YMCA spent over US$30 million in developing space at Gaviidae Common, before opening its doors to the public on March 6, 2018. The fitness center held a grand opening event which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Minneapolis' mayor Jacob Frey. In addition to serving as the new home for the Douglass Dayton YMCA, it includes office space for 400 employees and the local YMCA headquarters.[15]

Two skyways connect Gaviidae Common II (left) to Gaviidae Common I (right).

Gaviidae Common I was designed by Argentine American architect César Pelli in 1989.[16] It serves as Pelli's second of three buildings in Minneapolis, preceded by Wells Fargo Center in 1988 and succeeded by the Minneapolis Central Library in 2006.[3] It encompasses five floors and approximately two-and-a-half levels of underground parking underneath the street level. The retail section surrounds an atrium supported by a "grid of [...] dark blue" pillars. The exterior of Gaviidae Common I uses "fixtures [...] of bronze and dark green metal [and] clear glass bay windows".[16] Other materials commonly found throughout the shopping mall include "Italian marbles, glass block and gold accents".[3] The center atrium, featuring a "celestial design [that] is a graphic representation of Minnesota's Northern sky" is currently the "largest barrel-vaulted ceiling in the state"; additionally, a 600 lb (270 kg) sculpture of a loon, designed by artists Deborah Sussman and Paul Prejza, is hung in the atrium. Loons belong to the family Gaviidae, hence the shopping center's namesake.[3]

The mall's northern block, Gaviidae Common II, was designed by Chicago-based Lohan Associates and was completed in 1991, atop where Minneapolis' JCPenney department store formerly stood.[17] In contrast to Gaviidae Common I, the northern block features red-accented columns and railings and once housed the world's only "upward-flowing waterfall".[18] The two skyways adjoining both Gaviidae Common buildings contains Minneapolis' "first fourth-floor skyway".[3] Four other skyways connect Gaviidae Common to 33 South Sixth, 50 South Sixth, IDS Center, and Wells Fargo Center.[19] The skyway adjoining Gaviidae Common I to 33 South Sixth was designed in collaboration between Pelli and Iranian American architect Siah Armajani.[16]

• Official website