Target Pays $110M to End Lease in Minneapolis Tower

Target (Minneapolis) has paid $110 million to exit its lease in the City Center tower in its home city’s downtown, reports The Minnesota Star-Tribune. The retailer vacated the 51-story building at 33 S. 6th St. (which is a city block away from its main headquarters at Nicollet Mall) in 2021, but its lease was supposed to run through 2031.

Target’s exit means the tower’s owner, a unit of South Korean conglomerate Samsung, is preparing to list the property for sale, according to a Feb. 2 loan servicer report.

A Target spokesperson declined further comment to the newspaper on the lease ending, but emphasized the retailer remains committed to downtown Minneapolis. Last summer, Target called its largest corporate unit back to the office three days a week and consolidated employees into other downtown properties near its Nicollet Mall headquarters.

Target exiting the lease “opens up the opportunity to explore additional uses,” Ryan Watts, EVP for the local office CBRE that will market the center, told The Star-Tribune. “While Target had it under control, it was only going to be office. Now that it’s not under lease by them, I think there’s more ability to explore alternative options.”

That could include converting the office space into a mixed-use complex anchored by housing, a trend that has occurred in many other cities around the country, the newspaper noted.