# Wells Fargo Center *Office tower at 90 South 7th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota.* The **Wells Fargo Center**, formerly Norwest Center, is an office tower at 90 South 7th Street in downtown [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]]. César Pelli designed it, and it was finished in 1988. At 774 feet (236 m), only the IDS Center and the Capella Tower stand taller in the city.[^1] Its recorded prices fell sharply in five years. Starwood Capital Group bought the tower in April 2019 for $315 million.[^1] A Bring Me The News report gives the 2019 price as $313.6 million and reports that the building sold in December 2024 for $85 million while 62 percent leased, a decline of about 73 percent.[^2] The tower stands in [[Hennepin County, Minnesota]]. A 2026 survey ranked the county first among U.S. counties in federal dollars received. The survey's author attributes that ranking to federal data booking [[Medicare Advantage]] spending to the address of an insurer headquartered in the county.[^3] ## Where The tower occupies the former site of the Northwestern National Bank Building, which burned in 1982 and was demolished by implosion in 1984. An earlier plan for a 45-story tower on a square footprint would have made it the tallest building in Minneapolis. That plan was redrawn when the lot was cut in half. Northwestern National, later renamed Norwest Corporation, kept its headquarters in the building. Norwest acquired Wells Fargo, took the Wells Fargo name and moved to San Francisco in 1998, but it kept large regional operations in the tower. Other tenants include Faegre Drinker and KPMG. Gaviidae Common, the adjoining retail center, was also designed by Pelli and was built alongside the tower.[^1] The Urban Land Institute gave the building its Award for Excellence in Large Scale Office Development in 1989. In 2000 the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] placed it among the 100 most energy-efficient buildings in the country. A branch of the Wells Fargo History Museum operated on the skyway level until September 2020.[^1] Hennepin County had 1,284,784 residents in the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 estimate.[^4] Minnesota's estimate for the same date was 5,830,405, which makes the county about 22.0 percent of the state. That ratio is derived from the two Census pages; the Bureau does not publish it.[^5] Bureau of Economic Analysis data put the county's 2024 all-industry GDP at $193.6 billion,[^6] against Minnesota's $507.7 billion, a derived share of 38.1 percent.[^7] On December 11, 2025, the county adopted a 2026 budget of $3.15 billion. It includes a $1.13 billion property tax levy, a 7.79 percent increase.[^8] Sun Post reporting on the adopted budget shows how the money is divided. [[Law, Safety and Justice]], which covers the [[sheriff]] and the [[county attorney]], takes about 15 percent. [[Operations and Disparity Reduction]] takes 13.8 percent. The county's own budget documents could not be retrieved to verify this breakdown.[^9] The Center Square reported on a SmartAsset survey of 3,132 counties covering January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The survey ranked Hennepin first nationally in federal spending, at more than $286 billion. Of that, $282.8 billion was direct assistance. Per resident, the county ranked eleventh, at $222,702. The study's author explains the ranking as a booking effect. The country's largest Medicare Advantage insurer has its headquarters in the county, and federal data assign the spending to the insurer's address rather than to the beneficiaries.[^3] That insurer is UnitedHealth Group, headquartered in Minnetonka. On July 24, 2025, it said it "has now begun complying with formal criminal and civil requests from the Department" of Justice about its Medicare participation. The same statement says that "Independent CMS audits confirm that the Company's practices are among the most accurate in the industry." The record shows no resolution, settlement, indictment or declination.[^10] ## How much Wikipedia gives the April 2019 price, paid by Starwood Capital Group to Hines and Blackstone, as $315 million.[^1] Bring Me The News gives a lower figure for the 2019 sale: $313.6 million, about $272.70 per square foot.[^2] Bring Me The News also reports that the building sold in December 2024 for $85 million, about $73.90 per square foot, while 62 percent leased. Measured from the $313.6 million figure, that is a decline of about 73 percent.[^2] The record does not name the December 2024 buyer or seller. It contains no deed or other filing for either sale. ## In the at-issue record - [[At issue 040 - The Wells Fargo Center sold in December 2024]] - Identifiers: pair AI-040, also filed as AI-Hennepin-040; rank 40, shock 73; block *The Booking-Address Economy*. - What it states: the reported $85 million sale in December 2024, the $313.6 million sale in 2019, a 73 percent decline in five years, and a building 62 percent leased at the time of sale. - Sources: the pair lists a single news source, bringmethenews.com.[^2] It is anchored to a May 2026 White House presidential action on the financial system.[^11] - [[At issue 039 - The Ameriprise Financial Center 31 stories, 960,000 square]] - Identifiers: pair AI-039; rank 39, shock 74; same block. - What it states: the [[Ameriprise Financial Center]], 31 stories and 960,000 square feet, sold on January 30, 2025 for $6.25 million after trading above $200 million in 2016, a 97 percent discount. - Sources: the pair rests on reporting from axios.com and tcbmag.com, neither of which is reproduced in this record. Its figures are the pair's statement, not verified fact. It shares the same White House anchor.[^11] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Wells Fargo Center (Minneapolis)* (revision 1372021209, retrieved 2026-10-27) — address, former name, 1988 completion, 774 ft height and rank, Pelli design, predecessor building's 1982 fire and implosion two years later, redesign, Norwest headquarters and 1998 move, tenants, Gaviidae Common, 1989 ULI award, 2000 EPA recognition, museum closure in September 2020, and the April 2019 Starwood purchase for $315 million from Hines and Blackstone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Fargo_Center_(Minneapolis) [^2]: Bring Me The News, *Minneapolis Wells Fargo Center sold for a reported $85M* — the reported $85 million December 2024 sale (~$73.90/sf), the $313.6 million 2019 price (~$272.70/sf), the ~73% decline, and 62% leased at sale; the sole listed source of at-issue pair AI-040. https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-business/minneapolis-wells-fargo-center-sold-for-a-reported-85m [^3]: The Center Square (Elyse Apel), *Minnesota's Hennepin County tops U.S. in federal spending* (Aug. 29, 2026) — SmartAsset survey of 3,132 counties, Jan. 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026: Hennepin first at more than $286 billion, $282.8 billion direct assistance, $222,702 per resident (eleventh); the author's booking-address explanation. https://www.thecentersquare.com/minnesota/article_96460bd8-0fdb-4652-9c1a-0aa5edaccc78.html [^4]: U.S. Census Bureau, *QuickFacts: Hennepin County, Minnesota* — population 1,284,784 (July 1, 2025 estimate). https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/hennepincountyminnesota/PST045224 [^5]: U.S. Census Bureau, *QuickFacts: Minnesota* — population 5,830,405 (July 1, 2025 estimate); the 22.0% county share is derived arithmetic, not published. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MN/PST045224 [^6]: Bureau of Economic Analysis via FRED, *All Industry Total GDP, Hennepin County, MN* (2024) — $193,617,316 thousand. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GDPALL27053 [^7]: Bureau of Economic Analysis via FRED, *Minnesota all-industry GDP* (2024) — $507,687.8 million; the 38.1% county share is a derived ratio. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MNNGSP [^8]: Hennepin County, *2026 budget adopted* (December 11, 2025) — $3.15 billion total; $1.13 billion property tax levy, a 7.79% increase. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNHENNE/bulletins/3ff072c [^9]: Sun Post (hometownsource.com), *Hennepin County board adopts $3.15B budget for 2026* — budget composition including Law/Safety/Justice 15% and Operations & Disparity Reduction 13.8%; journalism, not a primary budget document. https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_post/free/hennepin-county-board-adopts-3-15b-budget-for-2026/article_18def2d9-37f8-400d-b5ef-6ed6ffd6e4f5.html [^10]: UnitedHealth Group, *UHG Responds to DOJ Investigation* (July 24, 2025) — the company's statement that it is complying with formal criminal and civil requests from the Department, and its assertion about CMS audits. https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/newsroom/2025/2025-07-24-uhg-responds-to-doj-investigation.html [^11]: The White House, *Restoring Integrity to America's Financial System* (May 2026) — presidential action designated as the anchor of at-issue pairs AI-040 and AI-039; not the source of the sale figures. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/05/restoring-integrity-to-americas-financial-system/