Major US retailer adapts to hybrid future.

 

US retailer Target has become the latest major corporation to downsize its office footprint, declaring it will reduce its office space in Minneapolis by one-third.

 

Target said it no longer needs the nearly one million square feet it occupies in a downtown skyscraper as it plans for a hybrid future in which workers will combine remote and on-site work. 

 

It made the decision with 10 more years left on its lease.

 

All of Target's offices in the US have been mostly empty in the past year as the company, like many, sent employees home to slow the spread of COVID-19. 

 

About 3500 of Target's 8500 downtown Minneapolis employees worked in the City Center building before the pandemic.

 

Because of its size, Target's decision could affect mass transit patterns, real estate values and the future of other businesses, such as restaurants and retail stores in the downtown precinct. 

 

Steve Cramer, president of the Minneapolis Downtown Council, said he believes many other companies will incorporate remote work into their real estate decisions.

 

"I don't think the sky is falling," he told the Star Tribune. "There is a difference between a collapse and an expected economic reset, and I believe this is a reflection of an economic reset and not a collapse."