The much-anticipated public market portion of the massive Midtown Exchange development project in Minneapolis, opened on June 3, 2006. Shea provided design and architecture services for the market.

The goal of the Midtown Global Market is to provide a community gathering place with a vast array of fresh and prepared foods offered in an energetic multi-cultural setting. The design of the Midtown Global Market was inspired by indoor, year-round public markets from around the world, where a variety of vendors sell prepared foods, specialty groceries, meat, fish, produce, cheese, bread, flowers, arts, crafts and more.

Shea's challenge was to design a space that would be vibrant and lively, while allowing individual tenant spaces to be discernible in the greater context of the bustling market. Individual stalls were designed to accommodate a variety of tenants, offering sinks and water hookups for some, while offering full kitchen capabilities for others. The market has capacity for 60 small vendor spaces with areas ranging from 320 to 1800 square feet, as well as space for two full-service sit down restaurants.

Shea worked with the Ryan Companies development team early in the project planning stages and developed the Midtown Exchange name and logo for the former Sears building. As redevelopment rights were awarded to Ryan, Shea was selected to provide design and architecture services for the public spaces of the complex as well as the Global Market.