Wells Fargo has closed on a deal with developer Ryan Cos. for two office towers that have yet to be built near the new Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis, the Star Tribune reports.
Wells Fargo is paying $217 million for the two 17-story office buildings, and plans to locate about 5,000 employees in those towers when they’re built, according to the Star Tribune. They are part of a new $400 million development called Downtown East which is being planned for the area adjacent to the new Vikings stadium.
Downtown East, which will occupy five blocks just west of the stadium, will include the two office towers, 200 apartments, a parking ramp, retails and restaurant space, and a large public park.
Last month, Ryan purchased four blocks from the Star Tribune for $30.8 million, and the newspaper sold a fifth block to the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Authority, which will build a new parking ramp on that space. The newspaper’s building will be torn down to make way for the new development, and the Star Tribune will move to other space downtown.
The deal is one of the largest commercial property transactions in the metro area in recent history, according to the Business Journal. Last year, Beacon Investment Properties purchased the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis for $253 million.
Wells Fargo has said it will invest about $300 million in the project.
