The Bush Foundation will exit its longstanding offices at the U.S. Bank Center in downtown St. Paul this fall, but the philanthropy — which maintains a $1.3 billion endowment — doesn’t plan to move far.
The foundation, established in 1953 by Archie Bush — an employee of and early investor in 3M — and his wife, Edyth, will relocate from 101 E. Fifth St. to the 428 Building at 428 Minnesota St.
The five-story 428 office building, which once housed a 1950s-era Woolworth’s department store, underwent a $17 million remodel in 2018 that added environmental and health-conscious flourishes, as well as two glass-enclosed new floors to what had been a three-story retail destination.
The 428 Building “meets our needs and gives us some flexibility to think creatively about how we can use the space to do our work and support the communities we serve,” reads an announcement on the Bush Foundation website.
“More than that, it’s a building that is focused on wellness and sustainability,” states the announcement. The 428 is the first building in Minnesota to be awarded both LEED Silver certification and WELL Building Core & Shell certification.
The Bush Foundation will be located on the fourth floor, directly below the offices of Wellworth Coworking.
The Bush Foundation worked with NEOO Partners Inc. to broker the lease and will work with LSE Architects, Dark Horse General Contracting and Zuri 3 Construction on the buildout.
The 26-story U.S. Bank Center is owned by the troubled Madison Equities, which put its extensive downtown St. Paul real estate portfolio up for sale after the death of its owner a year ago. The 1973 building was 58% occupied in May, before U.S. Bank announced its intention in October not to renew its lease on nine floors.