The property owner, Madison Equities, told tenants on Monday to vacate the premises immediately. It hadn’t been paying its utility bills, and the power was scheduled to shut off Wednesday.

The financially troubled owner of downtown St. Paul’s Alliance Bank Center notified tenants Monday it would shut off utilities in two days' time, sending businesses scrambling to find new spaces, orchestrate difficult moves and grapple with goodbyes to storefronts that served as home for years.

The office building is owned by Madison Equities, the St. Paul landlord that is trying to unload its downtown portfolio. Shutting the building down would leave a hole in the city's skyway system.