One building at a time, Jassen Johnson has spent more than a decade working to turn the old industrial corridor between downtown and Grand Center into a hip district for creative types.

Now, he’s gearing up for an ambitious, $55 million bid to connect the area many now know as Midtown Alley to Downtown West and add a true gathering place for residents, workers and visitors.

Over the next two years, Johnson and his partners hope to rehab two vacant buildings into offices and lofts, add a hotel, build a parking garage and create a complex for retailers and restaurants out of shipping containers.

“What we’re trying to do is take 15 years of work and finish it correctly,” Johnson said.

Johnson, of Renaissance Development Associates, first has his sights on the Mendenhall Building (a name likely derived because of its former life as the home of Mendenhall Ford) at 2315 Locust Street, just east of Jefferson Avenue.