MINNEAPOLIS – The Meritex Company announces the execution of a 144,000 square-foot lease with US Venture, a leader in the distribution of petroleum and renewable energy products, lubricants, tires and parts for the automotive aftermarket. The company will occupy the entire building of Highcrest III, which was completed last quarter.

“Our leasing success demonstrates the strength of the market and the desirability of the product type we delivered,” says Ben Lieser, regional manager at Meritex. “It is rare to have a building fully leased so close to completion, and with a lease of that size.”

In 2018, less than 5 percent of the deals in this submarket were greater than 100,000 square-feet.

“Total vacancy in this product type’s submarket is just 6.8 percent,” Lieser added. “Vacancy rates are low and quality spaces in excellent locations are leasing quickly.”

Highcrest II, also completed last quarter, currently has one tenant, a multinational company that is thrilled to be in a brand-new building conveniently located to their customers. The building currently has 108,000 sq. feet of space still available for lease.

“We’ve seen an increase in companies looking to take advantage of the 32’ clear height and excellent access to Interstate 35W,” says Lieser. “This development is closer to downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul than any other recent industrial development, which also makes it particularly attractive to distributors.”

Highcrest II and III are located across the street from Meritex’s fully-leased, 130,000-sq.-ft., Class A office-warehouse known as Highcrest Distribution Center I. It is currently home to Asmodee, a publisher of board games, card games and role-playing games, and Café Imports, an independent importer and developer of some of the world's finest specialty green coffees.

The Cushman & Wakefield team of David Stokes, Todd Hanson, Jason Sell, Chris Weirens and Ian Thompson are handling leasing services.

“We’ve seen an increase in companies looking to take advantage of the 32’ clear height and excellent access to Interstate 35W,” said Ben Lieser, Minnesota regional manager at Meritex. “Leasing activity has been strong with 36,000 square feet already signed with a multinational company that is thrilled to be in a brand-new building conveniently located to their customers.”

The development site, located at 2501 and 2503 Walnut Street in Roseville, has close access to Interstate 35W, Highway 36 and Highway 280, and is closer to downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul than any other recent industrial development. It is zoned I-1, which permits a variety of uses including manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, and will feature 32-foot-clear ceilings and ESFR sprinkler systems.

The site is across the street from Meritex’s fully-leased, 130,000-sq.-ft., Class A office-warehouse known as Highcrest Distribution Center I, which is currently home to Asmodee, a publisher of board games, card games and role-playing games.

The Cushman & Wakefield team of David Stokes, Todd Hanson, Jason Sell, Chris Weirens and Ian Thompson are handling leasing services.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Meritex Company is developing two additional speculative industrial buildings at CLT Logistics Center, located near the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The project is the final phase of a larger plan to develop three buildings on the site. Meritex recently completed construction this year of a 79,420-square-foot, Class A, multi-tenant industrial building.

“This development site is irreplaceable and strategically located adjacent to the airport providing excellent access to the airport cargo, intermodal, highways, and downtown Charlotte,” says Matt Wagner, director of acquisitions at Meritex. “The new buildings and our existing business park attract a diverse tenant base because of its unique location and amenities that serve companies in distribution, freight forwarding, last-mile solutions, light industrial, manufacturing, tech and R&D sectors,” says Wagner.

The two new buildings will be called CLT Logistics Building II and III and will contain approximately 135,024 square feet of new modern space for industrial users. The buildings will feature 32’ clear heights, efficient column spacing, LED lighting with motion sensors, ESFR sprinkler system, high dock ratio count, pit levelers, abundance of natural light with clerestory windows, ample trailer storage, and 60’ speed bays. The buildings are anticipated for completion in Summer 2019.

“We have designed these buildings with the future in mind,” says Wagner. “We plan to provide modern amenities and a finish level with a higher standard to accommodate overall user demand and the changing needs of tenants in the market.” Meritex plans to build out office space in the buildings that will feature 12’ office ceilings, open floor plans with polished concrete floors and upgrade interior finishes.

Once Buildings II and III are completed, the CLT Logistics Center will comprise of a 14-building business park with almost 800,000 square feet of industrial space, which is currently seeing strong leasing activity. Additionally, the development at the CLT Logistics Center will bring the company’s footprint to nearly one million square feet of industrial product in the Charlotte metro area.

“Charlotte continues to be an attractive market for us as its supported by strong demand drivers,” says Wagner. “We plan to continue our growth in the near term, with the goal of growing our portfolio in excess of two million square feet.”

Meritex first entered the Charlotte market in mid-2016 with the acquisition of the 11 building, 583,021-square-foot, Class A property known as CLT Logistics Center. The initial purchase also included 14 acres of available land, which is currently under development. The business park contains more than 40 local, national and international tenants with a wide range of suite sizes from 1,500 sq. ft. to 40,000 sq. ft. The property is currently 97 percent leased.

HOUSTON – The Meritex Company continues to increase its presence in the Houston market with the acquisition of Park 225, a 121,520-square-foot, Class A, multi-tenant light industrial building. Meritex closed on the property on October 24.

Dan Ward, the director of investments for Houston at Meritex, says, “Park 225 is an attractive asset due to its location. The building is at the interchange of Highway 225 and Beltway 8, providing excellent access to Houston’s vast petrochemical industry, the Houston Ship Channel and to both Barbour’s Cut and Bayport Container Terminals of the Port of Houston.”

The strategic location is attractive to tenants in the petrochemical, port and shipping, distribution, and light manufacturing industries. The building is already fully leased to four tenants.

Park 225 is Meritex’s third acquisition in Houston and brings the company’s industrial portfolio to almost 500,000 square feet of assets owned and managed in the metro area. Texas is a key expansion market for Meritex, which is also currently exploring opportunities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Ray Kivett, CIO at Meritex, says, “We plan to own Park 225 long-term. Houston continues to have favorable property and market fundamentals and remains a targeted expansion market for Meritex.”

The Southeast Industrial submarket has 3.3 percent market vacancy and experienced over one million square feet of absorption in Q1 2018.

Tom Lynch, an investment sales broker at CBRE, helped with the acquisition. Property management will be provided by Stream Realty’s Houston office.

The Meritex Company was named one of Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s 2018 Best Places to Work, reinforcing the company’s focus on putting people-first. The list of honorees includes companies in a wide range of industries across the Twin Cities who create and maintain engaging work environments for their employees through team-building activities, career-development opportunities, workplace amenities and more.

At Meritex, employees are encouraged to grow and evolve in a setting that combines the flexibility and innovation of a family-owned business with the benefits, discipline and governance of a much larger organization. This eliminates hierarchy and gives employees the opportunity to learn many aspects of the business by interacting daily with other departments and directly with senior leadership. Employees are encouraged to explore, challenge themselves, and look for ways to improve processes and make a difference at the company and in their communities.

Raising the standards for the industry, Meritex commits to doing business the right way, forming genuine, long-lasting relationships that lead to strong collaboration, beneficial outcomes and sustained success for everyone involved. By doing that, Meritex believes success naturally follows.

This is the Business Journal's 20th year recognizing great workplaces — the longest such awards program in the Twin Cities.

CHARLOTTE – The Meritex Company has purchased Airpark West V, a 100,286-square-foot property located just three miles from the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, providing a versatile opportunity for small- to mid-sized businesses. In keeping with the Meritex tradition of doing good business by creating flexibility and innovation in properties, the building will undergo a major capital improvement plan, including adding additional dock doors, energy-efficient LED lighting, new HVAC systems, exterior enhancements and newly updated office suites.

“We acquired the asset completely vacant and plan to reposition it into an attractive, multi-tenant building appealing to small-to-midsize users,” says Matt Wagner, director of acquisitions at Meritex. “We intend to transform the functionality and image to best-in-class.”

With an eye to the long-term goal of providing spaces that are business-friendly, the property was also chosen due to its potential for allowing the companies within the space to evolve as they wish.

Ray Kivett, chief investment officer at Meritex, says, “Given the pace of change in so many industries, there’s no single design or layout that solves every problem. Rather than design to a specific need, we work to ensure all Meritex properties combine functionality with flexibility, designing spaces in such a way that we can anticipate and accommodate needs in a variety of ways—and be ready to evolve even further forward.”

Airpark West V is located at 8610 Airpark West Drive within the Air Park West Industrial Park in Charlotte, North Carolina. Originally built in 2004 and expanded in 2007, the property was strategically acquired based on its premium location and fulfilling Meritex’s objective of further expanding in the Charlotte airport submarket. In addition to its infill positioning, its transportation access is exceptional due to the adjacency to major corridors – under a mile from I-485, 0.25 mile from I-85, and only 1.6 miles from the intersection of I-485 and I-85.

Justin Smith, vice president at Colliers International, says, “Recently the airport submarket has experienced tremendous growth through leasing and investments and the Airpark West V building will be well-positioned to succeed with the future redevelopment plan.”

Smith and Rob Speir of Colliers International represented Meritex in the acquisition of this transaction.

Foundry Commercial in Charlotte has been engaged to act as both leasing agent and property management firm for the Airpark West V.