Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), one of the four largest lenders in the U.S., has signed a deal to own and occupy a new office complex in downtown, Minneapolis. The company will acquire two buildings with an aggregate office floor space of about 1.1 million square feet from Ryan Cos, the complex developer, at a cost of about $300 million.
Last week, Minneapolis City Council has accorded approval for the two buildings under mixed-use plan which means that they are fit to be used for office occupancy by the bank.
This office acquisition deal is expected to close early 2014 once it gets the approval of the government. If the government’s final approval is obtained for the office acquisition, Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) plans to move approximately 5,000 of about their 7,000 employees currently working in 14 different buildings in down town into the newly acquired office complex.
The company, in a news release stated that the newly signed office complexes will provide it with the much needed room for its future growth plans. The relocation of staff into the new offices is expected to take place immediately, once all the clearances are obtained.
The new office buildings, which Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) has signed for acquisition, are Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Platinum compliant. LEED is the highest ranking standard and Wells Fargo & Co’s offices will be the first to meet this standard in downtown Minneapolis.
By relocating its offices, the company plans to terminate its existing lease arrangements, in about 14 different office buildings in Minneapolis which it currently occupies.
Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) is a financial company with global presence. It offers a wide range of banking and non-banking financial solutions to individual customers, businesses, corporates and governments. The company is still struggling for recovery from the worst financial crisis in the recent memory. Its stock has hit new highs so far this year indicating the signs of its recovery efforts.
