A Mission-Driven Move for our Future
McKnight Foundation is thrilled to announce that we will soon have a new home that will allow us to powerfully move our mission forward through our physical space in the decades ahead.
After a thoughtful, extensive search across the metro area, we have signed a lease at 921 South Washington for an expanded office of approximately 50,000 square feet, starting in February 2025. Merely a few blocks away from our current location in the Mill District, we are proud to stay rooted in downtown Minneapolis, where we hope to continue contributing to the vibrancy and vitality of this neighborhood and city.
A 70-year-old family foundation established in Minneapolis in 1953, McKnight works to advance a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. Through this move, McKnight is harnessing the power of its physical space to powerfully advance this mission by creating a place for community and connection and demonstrating how to center sustainability and climate action through its office. The Foundation has signed a 20-year lease at this new location, a promise that the Foundation will remain grounded in this community for a long time to come.
“We are thrilled to make this mission-focused move for our future that will allow us to stay grounded in downtown Minneapolis and create a place for connection and collaboration with community partners, while also bringing our climate and energy goals to life through our physical space.”– TONYA ALLEN, PRESIDENT
“McKnight works to advance its mission in many distinct and powerful ways, and our office is a big part of how we make that happen,” said Tonya Allen, McKnight president. “We are thrilled to make this mission-focused move for our future that will allow us to stay grounded in downtown Minneapolis and create a place for connection and collaboration with community partners, while also bringing our climate and energy goals to life through our physical space.”
McKnight has long made its offices available to partners and community members for their use for meetings and convenings. In 2023 alone, we have welcomed more than 3,000 guests who have used the space for retreats, planning sessions, receptions, and much more. This new office will expand our footprint for collaboration, connection, and community—giving us an opportunity to welcome even more partners into our space.
Additionally, as part of this move, we are seizing the opportunity to embrace our climate and energy goals and better demonstrate the vision that we seek to support as a grantmaker and changemaker. Our goals include an aggressive decarbonization strategy that targets energy efficiency, completely eliminates our use of natural gas, and provides thermal energy storage that will reduce on site energy use while offsetting demand on the electric grid. This cutting-edge HVAC system includes air-source heat pumps, outdoor thermal storage tanks, indoor chiller-heater, and a backup electric boiler. Climate-friendly amenities, such as electric vehicle charging stations, will also be available. With support from key project partners and the potential to utilize various incentives and credits for clean energy investments, we believe this is an exciting chance to live into our commitment to a resilient future and demonstrate that carbon-neutral buildings are possible—even in a cold climate like Minnesota’s in our home city of Minneapolis.
McKnight is investing in the kind of space and amenities that will create an enhanced environment for collaboration and creativity among its employees. The new location, with McKnight as sole tenant, will be an expanded physical space to accommodate our McKnight team and community partners. Our staff and guests will be able to access our office directly from the street level—which is easily walkable, with access to public transport and bike trails. Inside, the new location will be a warm and inviting space for gathering, with a lobby, art gallery, and ample meeting space for events, along with hospitality areas that inspire comfort and creativity.
“We’re immensely grateful for the 20 wonderful years we have had at our current office, 710 South Second Street,” said Ted Staryk, chair of McKnight’s board. “For more than two decades, we’ve seen McKnight’s offices grow into a gathering place for so many of our staff and board, community and even global partners. We look forward to building on this history and staying rooted in this community as we strengthen our ties of connection, collaboration, and creativity in our new space.”
Our special thanks to the office relocation project team, led by women-owned businesses KimbleCo and Studio BV, along with Greiner Construction, Dunham Associates, Black-owned business Mobilize Design & Architecture, and Black-owned and women-led business Noor Companies.
About the McKnight Foundation: The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation is deeply committed to advancing climate solutions in the Midwest; building an equitable and inclusive Minnesota; and supporting the arts and culture in Minnesota, neuroscience, and global food systems.
