Owner looks to move Armory plan forward
By the time 5,000 Wells Fargo & Co. employees move into two downtown Minneapolis office towers along South Fourth Street and the Minnesota Vikings play their first game in their new stadium in 2016, the Minneapolis Armory two blocks away could be ready for its second life as a concert hall and event venue.
Doug Hoskin, principal of Minneapolis-based Interstate Parking and owner of the building, at 500 S. Sixth St., expects to file final applications to kick off the extensive renovation of the 79-year-old armory in either May or June, setting the project up for possible completion in time for the downtown east neighborhood’s transformation.
The armory is two blocks south of the office towers, which Wells Fargo will buy from Ryan, and about two blocks west of the new Vikings stadium.
He expects to file a final plan soon with the National Park Service, which has power in the matter because the building is on the National Register of Historic Places. A preliminary approval to rehab the building was granted in early 2013.
The armory’s history is largely as a public event space. It has been used for everything from boxing matches to political conventions, and it hosted the Minneapolis Lakers basketball team for more than a decade.
And its currently being used as a parking garage. I like the sound of tis plan WAY better.