Four local companies submitted proposals to develop a key parcel in downtown Minneapolis known as the Nicollet Hotel Block.

The City of Minneapolis closed its request for proposals period Thursday night for 30 Third Street South. The 1.7-acre city block is currently a surface parking lot and will serve as a crucial interchange for many of the major downtown revitalization projects currently in the works.

Doran Development, Duval Development, Mortenson and United Properties all responded with concept designs.

Renderings began to surface Friday afternoon. The city asked for an iconic building and it looks like it make get it. Duval is proposing an 80-story tower that would stand 23 floors and 100 feet above the IDS Center, which is currently the tallest building in the state.

(A proposed 900-foot tower. Photo courtesy of Duval Development)

The block sits at the northern-most point of the Nicollet Mall that is about to undergo a massive facelift. The city has high hopes for this odd-shaped plot that is bound by 3rd Street S, Washington Av., Hennepin Av. and Nicollet Mall.

The City's requirements for the block include:

an iconic, high-quality, designed new construction structure(s) of at least 20 active floors

a mix of commercial, retail, residential, office and hotel uses

active street-level retail

integrated green space for the public

Sitting between the city's commercial core, the Mississippi River and the booming North Loop neighborhood, plans for the plot must include streetcar-ready infrastructure. More than a half a dozen developers expressed interest in the site initially at a pre-proposal meeting, but the complexity of the design and the plethora of other commercial development projects currently underway across the Twin Cities Metro may have deterred some from pursuing the project.

The city says it wants the small parcel to include a mix of uses, such as office, hotel, residential and retail.

This part of downtown, called The Gateway District, has undergone a development boom over the last two years. Nearby luxury apartment towers like the 4Marq, Nic on Fifth and the Soo Line are beginning to reconnect the River to the Mall.

(Photo courtesy of United Properties and architect LHB)

Opus Development executives said in September they are planning to build two 30-story residential towers on the Ritz block, located off Nicollet Mall between 3rd and 4th Streets. City staff will review the proposals and conduct community outreach with the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association. City Council is expected to select one of the developers by April and sell the property by late summer 2015. (Photo courtesy of BKV Group and Doran Development)

Construction should begin early- to mid-2016.

The Nicollet Hotel at Christmas time in 1949. Star Tribune file photo.