CLOSE AD ×

Twin Cities architects will pay you $5,000 to take this piece of the Minneapolis skyway

Twin Cities architects will pay you $5,000 to take this piece of the Minneapolis skyway

Minneapolis architects CityDeskStudio are sitting on an iconic piece of Twin Cities infrastructure. Almost a decade ago they acquired a defunct chunk of the city’s elevated pedestrian network, the Minneapolis Skyway. Years later they’re still wondering what to do with it, which could be to your benefit if you’re in the market for a 140-ton steel box designed by Ed Baker.

You don’t need deep pockets, either. In fact, they’ll pay you $5,000 to haul it away.

Built between 1962 and 1972, the skyway system comprises more than eight miles of enclosed footbridges criss-crossing downtown Minneapolis. Though urbanists sometimes blame it for sucking the air out of street life, the skyway system serves a vital function during long Minnesota winters. But this particular segment, which used to connect the J.C. Penney and Powers stores across South 5th Street, became defunct with the demolition of Powers more than a decade ago.

Bob Ganser and Ben Awes of CityDeskStudio bought the 83-foot skyway segment in 2006, winning a blind auction from its previous owner, the University of Minnesota.

As Jim Buchta writes for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, CityDeskStudio’s attempt to unload the 1,380-square-foot structure has attracted some interesting proposals:

In 2009, CityDeskStudio posted an ad for the skyway on Craigslist, offering the 1,380-square-foot structure for $79,500. The ad went viral, but still no takers, so they dropped the price to $49,500.

“We’ve had more proposals, inquiries and exciting conversations than we could count,” said Ganser.

There were four or five serious possibilities, including converting the skyway into a rental retreat near Brainerd, a nonprofit career-training program in north Minneapolis and a rooftop studio space/artist loft in south Minneapolis.

Some of the ideas weren’t so serious. Someone suggested a nightclub on wheels, and just last week the duo received a proposal to turn it into a “sweet-ass mobile deer stand, complete with repurposed tank track wheels and a gun turret,” Ganser said. “This idea included the use of our finder’s fee to pay for gas and ‘a bunch of coolers of Bud.’ ”

The structure now it sits on land leased by CityDeskStudio, instead of looming over 5th Street. Given its heft and sturdy engineering, it could be repurposed as a bridge. Previous plans to turn it into a Philip Johnsonesque modernist house received a lot of attention, but so far no takers.

With a $5,000 incentive, perhaps the “skyway to nowhere” will finally go somewhere again.

CLOSE AD ×