Hybrid office developer to build out new offerings in empty downtown Rochester space

Jeff Kiger, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Feb. 18—ROCHESTER — The world's largest hybrid office/coworking space firm is partnering with a Med City building owner to turn an empty downtown spot into something new.

Regus

, an offshoot of Switzerland-based

IWG

, recently announced plans to create two new Minnesota locations, including one in the 318 Commons building in downtown Rochester.

Partnering with the owners of the nine-story 318 Commons building, Regus plans to renovate the 6,000-square-foot space that previously housed a Bremer Bank branch. Bremer closed that branch in 2022.

That spot operated as a bank branch for 10 years from 2012 to 2022. It started as

an Eastwood Bank branch

soon after the building opened and

changed into Bremer in 2014

. It is located next to the former

Loop restaurant

space now a

University of Minnesota Rochester

student lounge. The university leases seven floors of the complex for student housing as well as office and classroom space.

Regus' plan is to update the street-level storefront to match its branding plus build out co-working spaces, private offices, meeting rooms and "creative spaces." Regus representatives estimate the new version of the 318 Commons' space will be ready to open by the third quarter of this year.

Regus, which already has

12 office center spaces in the Twin Cities

, announced the Rochester project, along with a new Lakeville location, earlier this week.

Given the trend toward remote work and the abundance of open Med City office space, what attracted Regus/IWG to Rochester?

"The demand for hybrid working solutions is rapidly growing with businesses across the U.S. embracing the model. Not only are employees increasingly wanting to work close to home for an improved work/life balance, but businesses are realizing that they have a lower cost base and access to the best talent," stated IWG CEO of the Americas Wayne Berger in the announcement of the project. "As a result of this growing demand for hybrid working, we are excited to expand our presence in local communities, like Rochester, across the U.S. and continue to expand our innovative workspaces and professional suite of services in the state of Minnesota."

In the next few years, IWG/Regus plans to add 500 new U.S. locations in smaller communities as well as big cities.

This project is the latest commercial project in the 318 Commons buildings,

which was built by G.H. Holdings

. G.H. is a partnership between Rochester developers

Hal Henderson

and Grant Michaletz. It cost an estimated $28 million to build the 318 Commons tower in 2010/2011.