Cray completes move to the office building at Mall of America

Cray opened its first Twin Cities location in Bloomington in 1973, a year after the supercomputer company was founded. More than 40 years later after numerous moves, Cray has once again settled there by taking prime space in the new office tower at the Mall of America.

Cray is the first tenant to occupy the Offices at MOA, a 10-story office building next to the JW Marriott hotel at the mall. In March, the company's 375 employees moved from its offices at Cray Plaza in downtown St. Paul where it had outgrown its space and had to split some of its workers between different offices.

"We were really looking at trying to keep our employees together," said Peter Ungaro, Cray chief executive, in an interview.

While there were many options to choose from, the firm settled on the MOA space that offered all the features of a new building and the amenities of restaurants and shopping of the country's largest mall, he said. "You can't get much better than this," Ungaro said.

Cray's 85,000 square feet of space is spread out on the top four floors, offering employees impressive views of both downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul as well as the takeoffs and landings at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The space has two outdoor decks on the 10th floor, multiple eating spaces and large conference rooms. The space was designed by NBBJ.

For larger meetings and events, Cray can also use meeting spaces at the mall and nearby Radisson Blu.

The office is bright, provides much-needed collaboration space, and gives the company room to grow, Ungaro said. Cray's Bloomington office is the company's largest.

"I think it's a great place to recruit people to," he said.

Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead, who was in attendance Monday for the office's grand opening, was quick to welcome back Cray, which was first located on what is now the HealthPartners corporate campus.

"We are just so happy to have them back in Bloomington and we are just looking forward to the future," Winstead said.

Cray will soon have company in the new office tower with three other tenants moving into the building this summer. In all, the building, which was developed without confirmed leases by the mall's owner Canadian-based Triple Five Group, will soon be about 90 percent full.