Target asks HQ employees to work periodically at downtown Minneapolis offices

Target Corp. will recall workers to its downtown Minneapolis headquarters at least one week per quarter.

Employees on Monday received a newsletter from management requesting that for four weeks during 2024 they return full time to Target's three downtown Minneapolis office buildings on Nicollet Mall.

This week's news is seen as a bit of an olive branch to many downtown boosters and restaurant owners who had signaled frustration with Target and asked it to recall more workers back to the struggling area.

"Some of us are more patient, and some of us are less patient. There's a lot of urgency in getting more workers downtown," said Downtown Council CEO and President Adam Duininck. "Some of us just want to see the light switch flipped on and have workers all back. But the fact of the matter is that progress will remain incremental."

Target officials said the request for the four weeks of downtown work is not a mandate and should affect 7,100 workers.

The effort is not seen as a retreat from Target's desire to have a hybrid workforce, the company said, and already more employees are working downtown part-time.

"On average, 35% of our Twin Cities-based team visits headquarters at least one time per week," the company said in a statement.

Target, before the pandemic, employed more people in downtown Minneapolis than any other company. Its leaders, though, fully embraced the hybrid work model in 2021 and remodeled the headquarters buildings to allow for flex space and other features to support workers splitting time between office and home.

The company also announced in 2021 it was vacating 985,000 square feet of space in City Center as part of the hybrid model. Target had occupied 37 floors of the 51-story City Center tower. The decision affected 3,500 workers, many of whom were technically reassigned to Target's Brooklyn Park campus.

Target reported having 8,500 workers in downtown Minneapolis as recently as February 2020 and now counts 7,100.

The latest communication from Target is modest, city officials said, but the effort shows the company is trying to do its part to have more workers downtown even on a part-time basis.

"I'm excited about the news," Duininck said.

Having more workers downtown will not only be an economic win for vendors but also populate the streets and help people feel safer, Duininck said.

While Target's effort differs from what many other employers are doing, it could still inject "seven figures" into downtown annually as workers go out for lunch and happy hours and frequent shops, restaurants and bars, Duininck said.

To restaurant owner David Fhima the news is definitely a start.

"I think it's amazing," said Fhima, who used to see big swells of Target employees come for happy hours at his Fhima's restaurant in the City Center prior to the pandemic.

Business has been slow since then, he said, adding that he previously criticized Target for not being quick enough in bringing workers back downtown.

"They are such a valuable piece of our community and such big leaders in so many things that involve our community that people look at them as leading the charge. And so when that was not happening, it was disappointing," Fhima said.

Duininck noted that most other employers recalled their workers back into the office at least two or three days a week starting in 2022.

Currently, about 65% of downtown Minneapolis workers are back in their offices on a hybrid basis, according to the Council.

That is way up from the 35% to 40% the group reported one year ago. Duininck said he would like employers to expand their hybrid recall plans and add an extra day to the week that have workers coming back into the office.

Target's new "core event" weeks will take place during its quarterly earnings release weeks and during the company's fall national meeting in September, said spokesman Brian Harper-Tibaldo.

Target managers already had been informally holding events downtown and bringing workers together. The new request structures things and puts specific dates on future get togethers, he said.

"For 2024, we've identified four core weeks [that are] tied to important milestones for our business, when we'll host enterprise events in Minneapolis to drive connectedness, celebrate our team and build our internal culture," Target said in the statement. "While large team moments like this aren't new, we're being thoughtful about selecting the specific weeks well in advance, and we've communicated them early to help our remote and 'flex-for-your-day' team members plan for the year ahead."

Earlier this week the Minneapolis Foundation issued a new report about the reimagining of downtown Minneapolis. The report stressed that downtown boosters can't count on workers ever working full-time from company offices.

The proposal explores converting Nicollet Mall, which Target headquarters buildings straddle, into a bus-free/pedestrian-only "entertainment boulevard." Other ideas would allow people to walk downtown with alcoholic drinks and do more to blend living, work and play in the area.