#locusarchitecture + #oneonone bike studio

A few months back, after a meeting in the North Loop, we wandered into One On One Bicycle Studio.  Gene Oberpriller was in the back, and we handed him a copy of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Bicycle Center Operator at the Union Depot in St. Paul.  “You should do that, it’s perfect for you,” we told him.  “You run the shop, we’ll do the interior architecture.”  With Gene’s signature illegible expression, he thanked us, said he’d take a look, told us it looked interesting, and set the RFP on the counter.  As we left, I imagined 24 hours would find it buried under merch catalogs, oily rags, and a box of fixed gear hubs.

A month later, about three days to deadline, Gene sent us an email, “Let’s do that St. Paul thing!”  Two coffee fueled nights, multiple drafts passed between our office and their shop, a few beers thrown in for luck, and delivery of the proposal via bike (of course) led us to three months of silence from Ramsey County.  That ended this week.

Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority selected One On One to design and operate the bicycle center within the Depot; the entire complex is being renovated as a pedestrian, bike, shared car, light rail, bus, and train transit hub.  We did a walk through with the One On One team last week and gone was the deadpan expression.  Gene smiled, he even offered a discrete high-five – but a Locus logo on the sleeves of One On One’s black Ts was a non-starter.  Look for One On One’s new Locus designed space in 2013.