Thrivent today held a groundbreaking ceremony at its new corporate center in Minneapolis. Speakers included: Thrivent CEO Brad Hewitt; Bonnie Raquet, chair of Thrivent’s board of directors; and Randy Boushek, chief financial officer at Thrivent. Minneapolis City Council member Lisa Goodman and Steve Cramer of the Minneapolis Downtown Council also provided brief remarks to attendees.
In addition to marking Thrivent’s groundbreaking, community leaders gathered to celebrate the ongoing development of East Town in Minneapolis.
“While our mission of helping Christians on their Wise with Money Journey hasn’t changed, we recognize our members’ expectations and the financial services industry as a whole have transformed over time,” said Thrivent CEO Brad Hewitt. “This new corporate center will enable us to continue fulfilling our mission in a changing environment so we can support and guide our members for years to come. We’re excited to share this milestone with our members, neighbors and employees.”
Thrivent’s new corporate center will be located at South Sixth Street and Fifth Avenue South in the heart of the East Town neighborhood in Minneapolis. The building will be a natural stone, metal and glass structure spanning 350,000 square feet and standing eight stories tall. It will include an easily accessible branch for Thrivent Federal Credit Union, a pocket park, coffee shop, chapel and art gallery open to the public. Construction will be handled by McGough with estimated completion in mid-2020. The preliminary estimates show construction and soft costs to be between $125 million – 130 million for the new corporate center. These costs, however, will be offset by sales proceeds from Thrivent’s current building, surface parking lots and avoided renovation costs.
Thrivent has occupied its current building, located at 625 Fourth Avenue South, since 1981. The Hennepin County Board voted in 2017 to buy Thrivent’s current building. Thrivent will rent its current building from Hennepin County until Thrivent’s new corporate center is complete.
In addition to today’s groundbreaking, Thrivent announced it will donate $1 million to House of Charity, a non-profit dedicated to helping struggling individuals get access to food and shelter while reducing the barriers to long-term self-sufficiency. The money will go towards the organization’s new affordable housing project in East Town.
