If you saw the headlines flying around online, you might think Target just packed up its stores, slammed the door, and fled Minneapolis in a cloud of smoke.
The reality is a bit more nuanced. But it is still not exactly a glowing endorsement of downtown Minneapolis.
Yes, Target did pay nearly $110 million to terminate a lease early. That part is true. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Minneapolis based retailer paid that staggering sum last month to officially break its lease at the City Center tower, a 51 story office building at 33 South 6th Street. The lease had run through 2031.
After months of protests and repeated store disruptions, Target paid $110 million just to terminate its lease and leave downtown Minneapolis. When a company would rather lose nine figures than stay, that tells you everything you need to know.
— Clown World â„¢ 🤡 (@ClownWorld) February 27, 2026
What did not happen is a mass closure of Target retail stores in downtown Minneapolis. The lease termination was tied to corporate office space, not storefronts.
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
Target had moved out of nearly a million square feet of office space in the City Center building five years ago, as the pandemic reshaped office work across the country. Even after vacating the space, the company continued paying rent while the offices sat largely empty. They attempted to sublet the space, but aside from law firm Fox Rothschild taking about 40,000 square feet in 2022, there were few takers.
In other words, the company was writing checks for dark, unused office floors in a downtown that has struggled to regain its pre pandemic vitality.
A spokesperson for Target declined to comment specifically on the lease termination agreement but emphasized the company’s continued commitment to downtown Minneapolis. The retailer remains a major employer in the area, though it reportedly slipped below Hennepin Healthcare as the city’s largest downtown employer in 2024. Last summer, Target called its largest corporate unit back to the office three days a week, consolidating into other downtown properties near its Nicollet Mall headquarters.
Still, optics matter. Paying $110 million to exit a lease early sends a message about the state of commercial real estate and business confidence in the urban core.
Minneapolis has faced years of challenges, from pandemic disruptions to rising crime and the lingering economic aftershocks of civil unrest. Office vacancy rates have climbed. White collar commuter traffic has not fully rebounded. Other businesses have quietly downsized, relocated, or shut their doors.
So no, Target is not abandoning its hometown retail footprint. But the fact that a flagship company would rather eat a nine figure penalty than ride out an office lease through 2031 speaks volumes about how dramatically the landscape has shifted.
Downtown Minneapolis is not dead. But it is not thriving either. And when even legacy tenants are cutting losses at that scale, city leaders should probably take notice.
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