Cray becomes first tenant at Mall of America office tower

Supercomputing company Cray is leaving the building that bears its name, Cray Plaza in St. Paul's Lowertown, in favor of the new Mall of America offices.

The Seattle-based firm announced Tuesday that it will become the first tenant of the office tower at Mall of America in Bloomington. More than 350 employees will move to The Offices @ MOA by the first half of 2017, the company said in a statement.

Cray was carefully chosen to help drive business to restaurants, hotels and retail at the mall, said Kurt Hagen, senior vice president of development for Triple Five Group, which owns the Mall of America.

But the company's departure from downtown St. Paul marks another loss for the building previously called Galtier Plaza, which has struggled to attract and retain tenants since it opened in the 1980s.

"It's a huge disappointment for downtown," St. Paul City Council Member Rebecca Noecker said. "Is this doom and gloom for downtown and Lowertown? Absolutely not. We're booming."

However, Noecker, whose ward includes downtown, said Cray's departure has sounded an alarm and city officials will start meeting with top employers in St. Paul to prevent them from moving to the suburbs.

Over the next couple years, many companies, like Cray, that signed leases during the recession and got a good deal will have to decide whether to renew those leases, St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce President Matt Kramer said. They could face increased costs and must determine if the price is worth it to be downtown, he said.

Cray occupied about 72,000 square feet of leased space in the building, which overlooks Mears Park and is in need of some repairs. The building's glass ceiling is cracked in several places and was leaking on a recent rainy afternoon. Buckets were set out to catch falling water.

Cray moved into the plaza in 2009, lured, in part, by a $400,000 five-year loan from the city to help pay for furniture and equipment. For each of those years that Cray kept 200 full-time, livable-wage jobs in downtown, the city forgave its annual loan payment.

"Anytime downtown St. Paul loses a company of that size it's unfortunate. But it does open up an opportunity for a new company to come downtown," said Paul Bengtson, director of the CapitolRiver Council, a district council which includes Lowertown.

Cray turned a lot of space on the building's skyway level into offices, Bengston said. The public would benefit if smaller businesses moved into the area and replaced some of the office space with retail, he said.

Julie Bauch, who manages the building next to Cray Plaza, said the space is better suited for "bite-sized tenants" than one large company. She said she is confident that property owners will be able to backfill the space.

Lowertown has seen incredible growth and some churn is anticipated, said Tonya Tennessen, a spokeswoman for Mayor Chris Coleman. She said the mayor is confident "the local economy is strong enough to absorb this and bounce back."

In a statement, Fred Kohout, chief marketing officer at Cray, said while St. Paul has been a "great regional home" for Cray over the last seven years, the new location will offer a host of new amenities. "While it's always tough to leave a location you love, we are excited to move to a new site that will better facilitate our growth, and allow us to continue to build upon our strong presence in the region," he said.

At The Offices @ MOA, Cray will lease about 87,500 square feet on the top four floors of the 10-story building. Cray has the option to expand, if necessary.

Staff writer Kristen Leigh Painter contributed to this report.

Jessie Van Berkel • 612-673-4649 jessie.vanberkel@startribune.com

Jim Buchta • 612-673-7376 jim.buchta@startribune.com