Downtown St. Paul office buildings are emptier than previously thought
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Empty downtowns are not a new story in our post-pandemic news cycle. But what is new is just how empty downtown St. Paul office buildings actually are.
Axios reporter Nick Halter dug through documents detailing office buildings for sale by the city’s largest landlord — Madison Equities owned by the late Jim Crockarell — and found the company underreported its vacancy rate to the St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association.
“He was telling everyone that the buildings were mostly full, and it turns out that they’re more like half empty right now,” Halter said. “And these are some of the biggest buildings in downtown St. Paul.”
That represents about 610,000 square feet of vacant office space that was previously not known about. It would bump the official vacancy rate for all of downtown St. Paul commercial buildings from 22.5 percent to about 31 percent, Halter said.
Listen to full conversation by clicking play on the player head above.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Dear reader,
The trustworthy and factual news you find here at MPR News relies on the generosity of readers like you.
Your donation ensures that our journalism remains available to all, connecting communities and facilitating better conversations for everyone.
Will you make a gift today to help keep this trusted new source accessible to all?
