Microsoft to expand Twin Cities operations

Microsoft Corp. is opening a new technology center in Edina, the company announced Monday, and is moving its regional offices from Bloomington to Edina, too.

Altogether, Microsoft will occupy 52,000 square feet in Tower III, a six-floor tower at 3601 W. 76th St. in the Centennial Lakes Office Park in Edina, south of Southdale Center.

The company will take up the top two floors and part of the fourth floor, said Richard Student, senior vice president at Bloomington-based United Properties, which co-owns the building. Microsoft signed a 10-year lease and will move the Bloomington staff to the new Edina offices over the next year, he said.

"Microsoft will now be the biggest tenant in the park," Student said.

Tim Floyd, director of the new Microsoft Technology Center, said Microsoft employs about 200 people in Bloomington, the offices for the company's seven-state North Central District. The new Microsoft Technology Center will employ seven full-time staff and is expected to open around the end of February, he said.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., has been building technology centers around the world for about 10 years, Floyd said. There are about a dozen in the United States. The latest opened in Detroit and Philadelphia.

Part training center, part sales showcase, the technology centers allow Microsoft to do hands-on demonstrations with business customers and tailor products to their needs.

The technology center will have a special suite called an "envisioning center," Floyd said, where Microsoft staff will demonstrate software in recreated business environments such as a home office or a cafe in a mall.

A "proof of concept" lounge is aimed at keeping customers visiting the site for extended periods -- up to 3 weeks -- comfortable with lounge furniture, video game consoles and a reference library, according to the remodeling permit application on file with the city of Edina.

"I think it's going to be a terrific new opportunity not only for Microsoft but for all of our customers in the Minneapolis area," Floyd said.

In addition to the Bloomington office, Microsoft leases about 12,000 square feet at Wells Fargo Place in downtown St. Paul for its Expressions product development team. In November, it opened a retail store at the Mall of America.