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.

MINNEAPOLIS – The Meritex Company has hired Ben Lieser as the company’s new regional manager for Minnesota, effective December 28, 2017. In his new role with Meritex, Lieser will provide management oversight to the entire Minnesota market. He will work at the company’s headquarters in Minneapolis.

“Ben has a breadth of experience in property and asset management, leasing, construction management and development,” says Arvid Povilaitis, COO at Meritex. “We are excited to have him join the Meritex team.”

Lieser brings more than 20 years of experience to Meritex. Prior to joining the company, Lieser served as asset manager with the Roberts Management Group. His previous background includes 13 years at the Carlson Real Estate Company and roles with Great Lakes REIT and Suntide Commercial. Lieser holds a bachelor's degree in real estate from St. Cloud State University, certified commercial investment member (CCIM) and real property administrator (RPA) designations, and a Minnesota real estate broker’s license.

“During the interview process, Lieser impressed us with his industry knowledge, certifications, and extensive experience in the Minnesota market,” says Povilaitis.

Lieser will build upon the success of Steve Dorff, Meritex’s former regional manager for Minnesota, who retired in 2017 after 38 years with the company.

MINNEAPOLIS – Meritex will this month demolish an existing 360,000-sq.-ft. industrial property, formerly known as the Minnesota Technology Exchange building, and construct two state-of-the-art 144,000-sq.-ft. bulk-distribution buildings, Highcrest II & III, in Roseville, MN.

The project has an anticipated fall 2018 delivery. Meritex has selected the Cushman & Wakefield team of David Stokes, Todd Hanson, Jason Sell, Chris Weirens and Ian Thompson for leasing services.

Highcrest II & III are across the street from Meritex’s fully leased 130,000-sq.-ft., Class A office-warehouse known as Highcrest Distribution Center.

“We’re excited to bring Highcrest II & III to the market,” said Ray Kivett, chief investment officer at Meritex. “We know tenants want great freeway access, to be close to Minneapolis and St. Paul and have unrivaled access to labor, and this project will provide all of the above.”

Meritex developed the building currently on the Highcrest II & III site in 1964, and owned and managed the property for four decades. The company sold the building in 2004, and then repurchased the asset in 2016.

The property, located at 2470 Highcrest Road 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 Northeast metro submarket has seen a tremendous amount of activity throughout the last several years as growing companies look to expand and others look to consolidate operations in newer, better spaces,” said Stokes, Cushman & Wakefield Senior Director. “The market has only just become aware that this opportunity is available, and there’s already healthy interest in the new Highcrest II & III.”

Total vacancy in the Northeast submarket is just 6.8 percent, according to Cushman & Wakefield research.

For more project information regularly updated, please visit highcrestmn.com.

Mark Scheierl, Eric Fink and Brett Ebert take on new roles within the company

The Meritex Company recently hired Mark Scheierl and promoted Eric Fink and Brett Ebert to new roles within the organization. The three will work out of the Minneapolis office, supporting business functions throughout the company.

Mark Scheierl was hired as a senior accountant at The Meritex Company. In his new role, Mark will be responsible for providing support to corporate managers including performance reporting, treasury management and corporate accounting. Before joining Meritex, Mark worked for a large public accounting firm where he provided assurance and tax services to companies within the real estate industry. Mark is a graduate of Mankato State University, where he earned a degree in accounting and minors in business law and business administration.

Eric Fink was promoted to manager of business analysis. Eric and his team provide analysis and insight to support the finance and asset management functions of Meritex. These activities include capital transactions, company analysis for strategic decisions and sensitivity analysis of key variables. Before joining Meritex two years ago, Eric was an accredited business valuation expert, working for a boutique business valuation firm in Minneapolis.

Brett Ebert was promoted to business technology officer. With more than 30 years of experience in information technology, Brett will ensure that the business processes and IT system solutions at Meritex run smoothly. This will include optimization and integration of the Yardi business system as well as overseeing technology implementation and improvements. Before joining Meritex last year, Brett was the president and owner of a Twin Cities-based managed services IT company for more than 25 years.

“We’re thrilled to have Mark, Eric and Brett take on new roles within Meritex,” says Tom Hotovec, chief financial officer at The Meritex Company. “Their expertise prepares us for growth, leveraging technology to continue improving our business.”

May 18, 2017 – Minneapolis, MN - Meritex announced today the acquisition of 1080 Park Place, a class A, 299,600 square foot industrial property located in Shakopee, Minnesota.

1080 Park Place is 100% leased to two tenants. The property is highly functional and offers 38-foot clear heights, an ESFR sprinkler system and abundant trailer parking with excellent access from both Highways 169 and 101.

“We are excited to enter into the Shakopee industrial submarket,” commented Dan Williams, chief investment officer of Meritex, “It is a dynamic investment and leasing market – one which we have been targeting for several years. We continue to seek additional industrial real estate investments in the Minneapolis market which now totals over 1.9 million square feet.”

1080 Park Place will be managed by Steve Dorff, Sr. Asset Manager at Meritex, who commented, “We are excited by the addition of the 1080 Park Place to our Minneapolis portfolio and look forward to serving our new customers.”