At a meeting of the Republican Party of Minnesota’s state central committee in October, party leadership promised a new brand and a new attitude. Implementing that agenda also involves a new location.
Chair Keith Downey said the party is finalizing a lease agreement for new office space outside of the capitol complex. He told a group of 400 activists: “The goal is to reduce our monthly office costs by 30 percent and very importantly to move out … to an area where the state party will be closer to the people — as a visible and tangible sign that the Republican Party is focused on everyday Minnesotans and immersed in their circumstances.”
The party’s current office occupies 7,340 square feet in a building on 525 Park St. in St. Paul, from where the party was threatened with eviction in 2012 for failing to pay its rent.
Downey would not confirm the location of the new space because the final agreement is still being executed. But it’s likely to be substantially smaller and technologically much more up to date
The new GOP digs may still not match the relative grandeur of DFL headquarters at 255 Plato Blvd. in St. Paul — a state-of-the art, million-dollar-plus property purchased by the party in 2002.
Downey said the state GOP will announced the new location and be ready to move by the end of the month.