Dario Anselmo, the coalition’s president who until recently owned the neighboring Fine Line music venue, said he thinks Gensler’s model is “an incredibly innovative and cool design.”

That said, from the perspective of a venue owner, he thinks of the ripple effects such a project would have on the neighborhood, including effects on parking and traffic. The Renaissance Coalition has discussed other ideas for part of those blocks that could also activate the area in new ways, he added.

“Everybody is watching this,” said Hansen, the CPED director. “We are at an inflection point, and I think you’re going to see a lot of great ideas about how we’re reusing buildings and real estate downtown over the next 10 to 15 years.”

“There’s an old principle, and you can find it throughout the Judeo Christian ethic, which is to those to whom much is given, much is expected,” Brandt said. “The evidence would show that generally, the lower you are on the income scale, the more regressive the property tax system uses a percentage of your household income, and so those are the people I’m trying to give relief to.”

Fine was the Park Board’s appointment to the BET throughout his time as a park commissioner about 20 years ago, and he has concerns about the idea of a city income tax. He doesn’t think the state would authorize it, and fears it would discourage wealthy people from moving to the city.

“If the demand isn’t up there for buying expensive homes and expensive property, and doing business in the city, the city will ultimately lose some of that revenue,” Fine said.

He says there are better ways to find more money. Asking the Legislature to increase Minneapolis’ share of local government aid, for one. And exploring having Hennepin County take over the work that the city currently does to value properties, which Ramsey County does for St. Paul.

Fine is running to reinforce what he views as the BET’s auditor role of taking a magnifying class to each city department, looking for cuts and challenging the city to justify the tax levy that residents are asked to muster. The city and Park Board tightened their belts during the Great Recession, and he wants them to do it again to pay for the rising cost of union labor.

“What should be happening is the Board of Estimates should be getting back to the city and saying: We think you need to look at this, this, this, and this, and maybe you can make changes in what you’re doing to have less demand on your tax revenue, and then you can make up for your losses because of downtown,” Fine said.

It’s the most expensive race for a Minneapolis City Council seat this year, maybe ever, and it could tip the balance of power in City Hall: the Ward 7 contest between incumbent Katie Cashman and challenger Elizabeth Shaffer.

Cashman, a first-term incumbent, lost the DFL endorsement in May to Shaffer, a member of the Park and Recreation Board, and Shaffer has more than doubled Cashman’s fundraising efforts in a ward that includes some of the city’s wealthiest enclaves.

Shaffer has made her case by casting Cashman as a member of the democratic socialist-aligned left flank of the party — too progressive for the comparatively moderate ward. Cashman says her record of two years in office shows she’s paved a more nuanced lane, straddling the ideological factions on the council while delivering prudent policy for her constituents.

Depending on how the council’s other 12 races shake out Tuesday, the Ward 7 contest could determine which coalition has control for the next two years.

Political action committees have stepped into Minneapolis politics in a powerful way this year: The Frey-aligned All of Minneapolis and We Love Minneapolis back Shaffer, while the more progressive Minneapolis for the Many has endorsed Cashman.

Both candidates acknowledge the huge receipts in ways favorable to their campaigns: Shaffer said her record-busting $248,378 in contributions is proof of the desire among her supporters for a change; Cashman, who has raised $119,438, says it’s proof that she’s fighting against powerful forces.

Ward 7 was longtime City Council Member Lisa Goodman’s seat covering a portion of downtown and Uptown along with Loring Park, Kenwood, Lowry Hill, Bryn Mawr, East Isles, Cedar-Isles-Dean, West Maka Ska and a sliver of Linden Hills.

Cashman, who calls Minneapolis “a union city,” has the endorsement of several unions and City Council President Elliott Payne, along with elected officials including Ilhan Omar and Keith Ellison.