Sitting in a picturesque neighborhood on the north side of the Mississippi River, the Riverplace corporate campus in Northeast Minneapolis had plenty of potential. But its four aging buildings – one of which dates back to the late 1800s – left a lot to be desired.

That prompted Detroit-based developer Crestlight Capital to pour $20 million into a major renovation of all four buildings. The work resulted in a significant cosmetic upgrade to The Studio, one of the four buildings on campus. Originally built in 1984, that structure was refreshed with tall ceilings and skylights, concrete flooring, and plenty of contemporary artwork.

Crestlight tapped Minneapolis-based architecture firm Perkins&Will – which helped with renovations to the IDS Center downtown – to lead the overall redesign project. Work began in January 2021. Newmark is handling leasing at the building.

One of Crestlight’s top priorities for The Studio was to design the new space around an evolving and increasingly hybrid workforce. Leasable suites in The Studio range from 1,100 to 45,000 square feet with a variety of floor plans, so prospective tenants can rent the office space that suits the needs of their employees.

“The Studio specifically was designed to target startups or smaller businesses that needed to be frugal in their real estate investment but wanted a connection to an office community and access to amenities,’ said Perkins&Will senior associate Anne Smith in an email to TCB. Leasable space can be built to the needs of smaller tenants with operable walls that can subdivide an office to partition the space as needed.

But what sets Riverplace and The Studio apart in the corporate office world are the amenities. The redesign features more than a dozen new additions to the building’s shared amenities, from a central shared cafe and a “grab-and-go” market to flexible and tech-enabled collaborative spaces, phone booths, and all-gender toilets.

Minneapolis-based employer benefits company Gravie was one of the first tenants to lease out 27,000 square feet in the newly renovated building. For Gravie execs, the property stood out for its inviting communal spaces and hard to beat location.

“This location is perfect. It’s close to public transportation, close to the city core, and you’ve got the river. When people want to get out of the office, there are places to go,” said Gravie’s chief people officer Amy Spartz.

Gravie operates under a hybrid schedule for its employees, with several all-team meetings and social events taking place throughout the year. But for the company that doubled its number of employees within the last year, these gatherings are increasingly harder to host in the office. This is what made The Studio’s communal spaces and enviable position in Northeast Minneapolis so appealing to Gravie. The company takes full advantage of the 4,500 square feet of collaborative spaces and 8 separate meeting rooms available to tenants when their own office gets too crowded.

Relocating to a building that could accommodate Gravie’s dynamic work culture was a key consideration for the company. With employees only required to come into the office three days a week, The Studio’s tech-driven collaborative spaces and conference rooms were a big plus, according to chief brand officer Jeff Smokler.

“We’re a really Zoom-friendly culture,” Smokler said. “The technology in this building really supports that – that was one of our key requirements.”

The details

Who: The Studio
Where: 1 SE Main St #200, Minneapolis, MN 55414
Space available: 70,000 square feet (as of August 2022)
Designer: Perkins&Will
Images: Corey Gaffer, Intereum, and Gravie