Dayton's tenants queue for 2020.

Byline: Matt M. Johnson

A new design that shrinks a retail atrium at the Dayton's Project in downtown Minneapolis has pushed the building's opening date back by several months.

New renderings of the $250 million renovation of the building at 700 Nicollet Mall that formerly housed Dayton's and Macy's department stores show more detail of what finished public spaces will look like when the building opens in spring of 2020. That date, set in a Sunday press release from the project's majority owner, New York-based 601w Cos., and developers Telos and United Properties, is a change from a previous expected completion in late 2019.

Project lead architect Gensler has reduced the size of an opening on the skyway level of the building's three-story atrium by about 500 square feet, said Steve Bieringer, a design manager and lead architect with the company's Twin Cities office. The change was made at the request of the National Parks Service and Minnesota's State Historic Preservation Office, Bieringer said. The Dayton's Project is seeking to be named to the National Register of Historic Places.

The January shutdown of portions of the federal government including the park service also pushed the timeline back, said Don Kohlenberger, president of Minnetonka-based Hightower Initiatives and the representative for majority owner 601W Cos.

Seven new renderings of the 1.2 million-square-foot project primarily show public spaces in 250,000 square feet of space in the building reserved for retail. The building will also feature about 850,000 square feet of office space.

The images focus both on new uses for the century-old department store and the historic detail the remodel will preserve. New retail shops and a 40,000-square-foot food hall on the building's lower level will be set between the building's original columns. Plaster details, crown molding and even terrazzo and travertine floors hidden for decades under newer materials will return to view, Bieringer said in a Monday interview.

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