BLOCK E ROCKS

Hard Rock Café, Improv Comedy Club and Borders Books and Music Sign Block E leases

Sidebar: A Look Back, A Look Forward
1884	Hennepin Avenue's history as an entertainment district began in the 1880s with the building of the luxurious West Hotel, which was anchored at 5th and Hennepin.
1910s	By the early 1900s, the Hennepin Avenue side of Block E is populated with pool halls and small shops, not unlike what Block E resembled in the early 1980s before it was torn down to make way for a new development. Across the street, where City Center is today, was the Grand Theatre, offering "refined vaudeville" and "photo plays." The Shubert Theatre was built at 20 Seventh Street North in 1910. It started as a playhouse and was later transformed into a movie theatre called the Academy Theatre.
1970s - mid 1980s	Block E gradually gains the dubious distinction as Minneapolis' most notorious block. The block's most infamous business is Moby Dick's, considered one of the toughest bars in the Upper Midwest. Other businesses included the Best Steakhouse, the Rand Hotel and Brady's Pub.
Late 1988	Buildings on Block E are torn down to make way for new development.
March 2000	Minneapolis City Council approves the redevelopment plan proposed by McCaffery Interests for Block E.
March 2000	McCaffery Interests and Graves Hospitality Corp. secure Renaissance Hotels by Marriott for Block E.
June 2000	McCaffery Interests signs Crown Theatres as an anchor tenant.
August 31, 2000	McCaffery Interests signs GameWorks as the third and final Block E entertainment complex anchor tenant. McCaffery Interests, Inc. and the Minneapolis Community Development Agency (MCDA) meet closing deadline.
October 6, 2000	Groundbreaking on the Block Formerly Known as E entertainment complex.
March 2001	CityBusiness names Block E co-winner in the “Best in Real Estate Mixed-use Development” category.
April 2001	Audio system and crane lights installed at construction site, foreshadowing entertainment future of Block E.
May 2001	McCaffery Interests signs Borders Books & Music as tenant
July 2001	McCaffery Interests signs Improv Comedy Club as tenant
August 2001	McCaffery Interests secures Hard Rock Café as tenant
August 2002	Block E scheduled to open.

MINNEAPOLIS (Thursday, November 1, 2001) — Minneapolis will be rockin’ and rollin’ when Hard Rock Café, Improv Comedy Club and Borders Books and Music open next August on Block E, the hot new $134 million shopping, dining and entertainment block currently under construction in the heart of the downtown entertainment district.

This morning, Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, along with Chris Tomasso, vice president of Marketing and Productions, Hard Rock Café International; and Daniel McCaffery, president of Chicago-based real estate developer McCaffery Interests, Inc., announced that the three themed venues have signed leases with Block E. The announcement took place at the construction site on the block bounded by Hennepin Avenue and 1st Avenue North, between 6th and 7th streets. With the previously announced Crown Theatres and GameWorks leases, Block E is now nearly 80 percent committed.

Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton and Dan McCaffery autographed a Gibson guitar and presented it to Tomasso for the new Minneapolis Hard Rock Café’s rock’n’roll memorabilia collection. The guitar is a new Les Paul® standard model in ia heritage cherry sunburst finish. Guitar legend Les Paul and Gibson teamed up in 1952 to produce the model that has since set the standard for solidbody electric guitars.

“The addition of Hard Rock Café puts Minneapolis among the nation’s hottest music and entertainment destinations, on par with Los Angeles, New York and Chicago,” said Mayor Sayles Belton. “Block E -- by attracting high-profile national tenants such as Hard Rock, Improv and Borders -- improves our ability to draw conventions and tourism to the city, as well as attract Minnesotans to the heart of downtown.”

Hard Rock Café is one of the world’s most recognizable brands known for food, rock music memorabilia and live entertainment. Founded in 1971 in London, England, it has become a truly global phenomenon with 104 locations in 36 countries. Hard Rock’s 9,000 square foot Block E restaurant will be located at the corner of First Avenue and 7th Avenue, directly across from the Target Center and the well-known First Avenue nightclub.

“Hard Rock Café is excited to join the Block E development, which is certainly poised to become a vital new center for Minneapolis, and we look forward to entertaining millions of rock fans with our one-of-a-kind music and dining experience,” Tomasso said.

Borders Books and Music brings its vast selection of books, music and videos to the downtown community. The 25,000 square foot, two-level Borders Books and Music store will have extended hours, remaining open well into the evening. The 7,500 square foot Improv Comedy Club will be located on the second floor, above Hard Rock Café.

“Block E will bring a new level of excitement to downtown, and we are grateful to the Mayor and the City for their support of this dynamic new project,” said Dan McCaffery, President, McCaffery Interests, Inc. “Block E will help tremendoulsy in Minneapolis’ emergence as a 24-hour city with exceptional dining, shopping and entertainment options for Minnesota residents as well as those visiting the Twin Cities for fun or work.”

Block E, located on a previously blighted city block that remained vacant for over ten years, will serve as a critical link between Minneapolis' Warehouse District and the downtown retail-financial center. The new development will be known as Block E until an official name is determined. McCaffery Interests, Inc. is redeveloping the block with 210,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment. The block will be anchored by the four-star, 255-room Renaissance Hotel by Marriott developed by Graves Hospitality Corporation; Crown Theatres, a 17-screen, stadium-seating cinema with accommodations for more than 4,000 patrons; and GameWorks, a nationally recognized entertainment venue created by Steven Spielberg.

Financing for the retail portion of the Block E project is provided by ULLICO, the Union Labor Life Insurance Company, of Washington, D.C. ULLICO is a nationally recognized advisor to union pension funds including the “J for Jobs” Fund.

About McCaffery Interests, Inc.
Chicago-based McCaffery Interests, Inc., was founded in 1991 and is a nationally recognized developer of quality urban retail and entertainment centers. In addition to the Block E development, other current projects include Clarendon Centre The Market Common, Clarendon, a 10-acre multi-use complex in Arlington, Va.

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Block E Contact:
Melissa R. Cohen
MRC Public Relations, Inc.
Ph: (763) 377-0272
Fx: (763) 377-0274
Cell: (612) 581-5456
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