Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said they wanted ICE out of the city, and there was a drawdown, but another exodus has been spotted.
Target is paying big bucks to get out of the lease for their downtown headquarters:
Target pays $110M to end lease in downtown Minneapolis’ City Center, which is now for sale https://t.co/fCNz8N9lNB
— The Minnesota Star Tribune (@StarTribune) February 26, 2026
Guy Benson has the sarcastic round of applause for the governor and mayor:
Another blue governance “progress” report. Big congrats to the Governor, the Mayor, et al! https://t.co/U6kMSYX5oX
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 26, 2026
Blue states and cities are usually pretty good at chasing away businesses:
After moving out of nearly a million square feet of office space in downtown Minneapolis’ City Center building five years ago, Target paid almost $110 million last month to officially break its lease that ran through 2031.
Now the owner of the 51-story tower at 33 S. 6th St. — an entity tied to South Korean conglomerate Samsung — is preparing to list the property for sale, according to a Feb. 2 loan servicer report.
Target’s decision to downsize in 2021 was one of the first signs of the pandemic’s seismic impact on office work.
At the time, Target — which was one of City Center’s original tenants when it opened in 1983 — still had more than 10 years left on its lease. The company had last signed a renewal in 2015.
The Minneapolis-based retailer has continued to pay rent for the offices as they sat dark, making City Center a symbol of the challenges and uncertainties facing a downtown that relied heavily on its white-collar commuter crowds.
Reading stories about this it looks like a combination of business conditions in Minneapolis combined with the insane COVID policies a few years ago and protests added up to Target deciding to bail out of the lease.
Recommended
Just think of how many Somali businesses you can fit in that bad boy now!
— No One (@No0neIsRight) February 26, 2026
Another major self-inflicted wound by Minneapolis leadership. https://t.co/WJkezuxWbZ
— Walter Hudson (@WalterHudson) February 26, 2026
Wonder what the reason could possibly be?🤔
— MN Dreamin (@MnDreamin_3) February 26, 2026
😂😂😂 liberal leadership doing their thing. https://t.co/QRDx5YgRIB
Who could have possibly predicted that, right? There's also this:
“Target remains deeply committed to downtown Minneapolis,” the spokesperson said, noting the retailer is the area’s second-largest employer and recently consolidated employees into other nearby buildings around its Nicollet Mall headquarters.
Coincidently, protests at several Minneapolis Target stores took place earlier this month, as demonstrators objected to the company’s alleged cooperation with federal immigration enforcement authorities.
But maybe Walz and Frey could make sure a "Learing Center" opens up where Target used to be.
*****