Construction crews wrapped renovations in July of last year at the Butler Square building at 100 N. Sixth St. in downtown Minneapolis. Today, tenants are enjoying the results of that renovation project.
Here’s a look at the steps the building’s owner took to rejuvenate this key Minnesota building. We hope this helps inspire other building owners to undertake their own revitalization projects.
At first glance, Butler Square’s spectacular, bright and uplifting “refresh” might seem like it was completed in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. While it’s true that the building’s new amenities are in especially high demand by organizations that are working to strike an ideal mix of in-person, hybrid and/or virtual work—and adapting their operations and facilities accordingly—the vision for this project began to take shape in mid-2019.
Back then, the building’s owner, Jane Mauer, conducted walk-throughs with architects, and by January of 2020 construction had begun. Finishing touches were completed a little more than a year later. The new and refreshed amenities include:
- Brand-new finishes and updated lighting. The white tile that replaces the existing brick floor boosts natural light levels and amplifies the impact of Butler Square’s soaring atriums. The design/project team also updated and improved lighting in the atrium and public areas by replacing high-pressure sodium and fluorescent sources with high-color-rendering, warm-white LEDs, up-lighting wood ceilings above corridors and circulation routes, adding remote-controlled color options for the spotlights aimed at the “Speed Astir” glider in the East Atrium, and using specialized fixtures to accentuate gathering places, murals, sculptures and other art.
- Spaces that foster community and connection. There is now a wonderful variety of seating areas in both atriums that provide inviting places where tenants can meet, collaborate, work alone or in groups, or relax and enjoy a meal prepared at the on-site café.
- A new, black carbon-steel spiral staircase. This staircase replaces the East Atrium’s escalator and provides a pedestrian circulation alternative for the adjacent elevators. Its lower landing serves as a small stage during special events.
- Circular wood-floor insets with clean-lined, steel-edged planters. Low-lying, lush, grass-like greenery adds texture and vibrancy to the décor, providing a calming interior view of nature for occupants. The 2,500 plants installed throughout the public areas were chosen to optimize indoor air quality, reduce stress, drive productivity and spark innovation.
- A new conference center. Leading-edge, wireless video conferencing technology and easy-to-clean, lightweight, mobile furniture make the presentation room easy-to-use and flexible. Ceiling-hung microphones and speakers detect and evenly distribute sound. A kitchen/arrival space with two new, universally accessible restrooms provides a place where hosts can greet guests and serve refreshments.
- A private tenant lounge. This amenity can be used by all tenants with card-key access during the workday and reserved by them for gatherings after hours. The lounge features relaxing, living-room-style furnishings and a food preparation/dining area.
- A new skylight atop the East Atrium. The Kalwall proprietary glazing used for this renovated feature improves ambient light management, increases natural light levels, and supports health and wellness by filtering out harmful UV light while providing soothing, evenly diffused, full-spectrum visible light and aiding plant photosynthesis.
- New shower rooms adjacent to the existing bike-storage room.
The refreshed interior spaces and features showcase and provide a clean, contemporary contrast to Butler Square’s award-winning, historic architecture. They also build on Butler Square’s existing amenities, which range from an on-site post office, café, and childcare center to a secure bike storage room and skyway connection, easy-in/easy-out highway access, and reduced-rate parking for carpoolers in adjoining ramps.
“Beauty matters,” said Mauer, president of Butler Properties, LLC. “It’s natural to want to construct, renovate, operate and maintain a beautiful building in ways that sustain and enhance this characteristic.”
Harry Wild Jones, the original architect for Butler Square, was known for designing buildings that elevated the human spirit. And as Mauer says, such spaces are critical for creativity, bringing something new into being and ingenuity, which requires taking a leap of faith toward the future.
Butler Square’s first owner, T.B. Walker, invested in high-quality architecture, materials and construction. When Charles Coyer took over ownership in 1972, his decision to transform The Butler Brothers Warehouse into a mixed-use commercial office and retail destination named Butler Square helped catalyze revitalization of the Minneapolis Warehouse District.
In 1979, the third owner, Jim Binger, redeveloped the west half of the building, making sure this part of the renovation was compatible with the first phase.
Binger enhanced Butler Square’s beauty and performance by adding the West Atrium, new office and retail tenant spaces, and high-efficiency building systems. He had the “Speed Astir Glider,” the “Circus Fliers” sculpture by George Segal, and other art installed in public spaces to be enjoyed by the building’s occupants and visitors.
“As the fourth owner of this landmark building, I have continued this legacy by investing in ongoing upgrades to the building systems and refreshing and adding amenities that are not only highly valued by our tenants, but that also resulted in Butler Square becoming the first 100-plus-year-old, multitenant commercial building in the world to win LEED EB O&M certification in 2009 and in our building receiving continued awards and accolades for its beauty, sustainability, connections with our community and focus on healthy, high-performance operations, maintenance and management,” Mauer said.
The timing of the Butler Square Refresh has turned out to be ideal. Construction began shortly before Minnesota’s COVID-19-related stay-home order was announced, and the finishing touches were completed in early 2021, just in time for the post-pandemic surge of economic, recreational and cultural activity.
“We are pleased to lead by example and to provide an inspiring place where an active, engaged, and growing pool of urban dwellers can work near their homes and enjoy all our city has to offer,” Mauer said.
Tenants of the building have also praised the renovation work.
“The Butler Square Refresh turned out amazing,” said Melanie Yetter, office and marketing events manager of building tenant Nature’s Way Brands. “The color selection of the furniture, new carpet, flooring, plants and the upgraded lighting create such a delightful and calming ambience on the first floor and the other common areas of the building. I also love the new staircase which opened up the atrium. We look forward to using the new meeting space and seating areas.”
Adrian Aguilar, accounting manager with tenant CGS Publishing Technologies International LLC, agreed that the work has transformed an already stunning building.
“Give credit where credit is due,” Aguilar said. “The Butler Square ownership and management team has done a superb job with the renovation of this beautiful building. They honored the historical character that makes this building unique and made it contemporary yet classic without losing the iconic look and feel of a historical landmark.”
