Florida Investor Buys St. Paul's Great Northern Building, Could Buy More: Report

Jamie Rand paid nearly $2 million for the Great Northern Building and told the Star Tribune he wants more downtown assets.

By William Bornhoft, Patch Staff

Apr 23, 2026 4:42 pm CDT

A Florida real estate investor has bought downtown St. Paul’s Great Northern Building for nearly $2 million in cash and is looking at more properties in the city’s core, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. (Google Streetview)

ST. PAUL, MN — A Florida real estate investor has bought downtown St. Paul’s Great Northern Building for nearly $2 million in cash and is looking at more properties in the city’s core, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

The newspaper reported Jamie Rand made the purchase through a new self-funded entity called the Downtown Revival Trust. Rand also told the Star Tribune he is closing in on plans to buy the First National Bank Building and may make an offer on another downtown property this month.

The 668,000-square-foot building at 180 E. Fifth St. is about 40 percent occupied. The building’s lender sold it more than a year after foreclosure.

Assessors valued the Great Northern at $10.3 million this year, making the sale the latest deeply discounted office deal in the Twin Cities metro, according to the Star Tribune.