U.S. Bank renews long-term lease at downtown Minneapolis HQ
MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Bank announced Monday that it has no plans to leave its namesake downtown Minneapolis headquarters anytime soon.
Officials with the Minnesota-based company, officially named U.S. Bancorp, say it just renewed its long-term lease at U.S. Bancorp Center, located on Nicollet Mall at South 8th Street. It's been the company's HQ since the building opened in 2000, and houses about 4,000 of its employees.
"It's important to us that we contribute to the ongoing resilience of downtown and we believe this decision demonstrates that," said U.S Bancorp president and CEO Andy Cecere.
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The company, however, will not renew its lease for its branch and offices inside Richfield's Meridian Crossing, with those employees being moved to different locations early next year. Officials say "no corporate roles" will be impacted by the move.
The company says it's also in the process of "modernizing workspaces" at its HQ, U.S. Bank Plaza in downtown, Hopkins' Excelsior Crossing, and other Twin Cities locations, including adding lockers and lodging spaces for employees.
A recent University of Toronto study found that downtown Minneapolis' post-pandemic recovery is among the worst in the United States and Canada, but the methodology used by researchers has come under scrutiny.
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The Minneapolis Downtown Council says about two-thirds of downtown's 200,000 workers have returned at least once a week. But according to downtown's other major employer, Target Corporation, two-thirds of its 7,100 downtown-based workers aren't working on site each week.
U.S. Bancorp was originally called First National Bank, which was founded in Minneapolis in 1864. Its previous downtown headquarters, located at Marquette Avenue and 5th Street, opened in 1915, and was the city's tallest skyscraper until the Foshay Tower opened in 1929.
Built in 1931, First National Bank's St. Paul skyscraper — crowned with its flashing "1st" sign — is considered the most iconic piece of downtown St. Paul's skyline. It was the Capitol City's tallest building until 1986, when it was dethroned by Galtier Plaza, which has since been renamed Cray Plaza.
U.S. Bancorp also owns U.S. Bank Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, as well as the naming rights of U.S. Bank Stadium.
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