Target pays $110M to exit City Center lease; tower going up for sale
Target Corp. has paid nearly $110 million to terminate its long-term lease at Minneapolis’ City Center, and the downtown tower will now be put on the market, according to a Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal report. Most of Target’s payout will go toward paying down debt on the building, easing pressure on the landlord but underlining how badly the once‑flagship property has been hollowed out since Target moved its headquarters functions a block over and shifted to hybrid work. The sale will test investor appetite for a large, aging office/retail complex in the heart of a downtown still struggling with high vacancies, safety perceptions and the fallout from the ICE surge and the pandemic. For the city, any change of hands shapes future tax revenue, the chances of an office‑to‑residential conversion, and whether Nicollet Mall regains meaningful retail traffic. Commercial brokers and downtown advocates watching the listing say the size of Target’s check shows how far landlords are now willing to bend to get legacy leases off the books and reset financing in a battered office market.
📌 Key Facts
- Target Corp. paid nearly $110 million to end its City Center lease in downtown Minneapolis.
- Most of the payout will be used to pay down debt on the City Center tower.
- The building will now be put up for sale, opening the door to a new owner and potential repositioning of the property.
📊 Relevant Data
The office vacancy rate in downtown Minneapolis reached 30.8% in Q3 2025, heavily contributing to the decision to sell properties like City Center.
Minneapolis Q3 Office Market Report 2025 — Colliers
Homicides in Minneapolis fell by 21% from 2024 to 2025, though perceptions of safety continue to affect downtown business activity.
Homicides fell in Minneapolis from 2024 to 2025, new report says — St. Cloud Times
In 2025 (through May), 77% of homicide victims in the Tri-County area including Minneapolis were non-White, while non-White residents comprise about 41.9% of the Minneapolis population.
The demographics of murder — American Experiment
The non-Hispanic White population in Minneapolis decreased from 60.3% in 2010 to 58.1% in 2020, with increases in Asian (from 5.6% to 5.8%), multiracial (from 3.4% to 5.2%), and foreign-born residents reaching 14.8% by 2021, driven by immigration from Somalia, Hmong, and Latino communities.
Demographics of Minneapolis — Wikipedia
Minneapolis has approximately 33,521 residents of Somali descent, making up about 8% of the city's population of around 425,000.
Trump targeting Somali community: How many Somalis live in Minneapolis? — FOX 9
📰 Source Timeline (1)
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