Tom Hotovec has been named CEO of Meritex, effective January 1, 2023. Hotovec is a company veteran, having served as CFO from 2004 until 2021, when he was named president. He will be taking over for Paddy McNeely, who will take on the sole position of Chairman of the Board.

“I’m very excited about this next chapter of our transition, and I am incredibly grateful that Tom will take the lead as the Meritex CEO,” says McNeely. “Tom and I have worked closely together over the past 19 years. Tom is the right leader for this next chapter as he has been instrumental in creating our leadership strategy, growing our business, and building and nurturing our culture.”

Tom has more than 25 years of experience leading teams and creating value. Before working at Meritex, Tom was the vice president of accounting and finance for General Growth Properties. He has been actively involved in NAIOP for more than 15 years participating in industry events, engaging in mentorship programs and a Capital Markets Forum.

Hotovec says, "I look forward to continuing our focus on culture as we grow the business and chart our path forward.”

Meritex, through its Industrial Fund IV, has completed the redevelopment on its newest Twin Cities acquisition, Parkers Lake Commerce Center, a three-building, 381,349 square foot infill industrial portfolio in Plymouth, Minnesota. Meritex purchased the portfolio in June 2021 with the intent of modernizing and enhancing the buildings to attract local, regional, and international companies to the park.

“We’re dedicated to transforming this project into a best-in-class business park,” said Matt Wagner, Senior Director of Investments. “We felt Parkers Lake Commerce Center could capitalize on the need for high clear height warehouse space in this market and are excited to bring that vision to fruition. We now have a fully leased, highly functional warehouse in a high-demand sub-market.”

The redevelopment of building one, a 168,100 square foot, 32’ clear height property, was completed in June, and included adding modern amenities, featuring new storefront entrances and façade, new ballasted EPDM roof system, LED lighting with motion sensors, clerestory windows, ESFR sprinkler system, new concrete truck court with 24 additional dock-high doors, two drive-in doors, additional parking, new landscaping, and trailer parking.

Ben Lieser, Regional Manager, said, “With the redevelopment we are able to deliver high-demand modern industrial space to a strong sub-market. We’ve seen sustained high demand among our other properties, and Parkers Lake was no exception. We had multiple prospects and were in lease negotiations before we completed construction.”

The new tenant, Stratasys (Nasdaq: SSYS), a leader in polymer 3D printing solutions, entered into a seven-year lease with Meritex for the entire building. The lease will commence on August 1, 2022.

"We are excited to partner with a high-quality publicly traded company with a longstanding history in the Twin Cities that values all the amenities the property offers," said Arvid Povilaitis, Chief Operating Officer of Meritex. “The lease further strengthens the diversity and stability of our tenant base and enhances our long-term cash flows. We welcome Stratasys to our portfolio.”

Jason Meyer and Brent Masica with Cushman & Wakefield represented Meritex in the lease transaction. Jim DePietro with CBRE represented Stratasys.

Meritex announces the close of the commitment period for Meritex Industrial Fund IV (the “Fund”) with the Fund achieving its target of $100 million in investor commitments. To date, the Fund has acquired approximately $92 million in industrial properties in four target markets – Atlanta, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Phoenix. The Fund has also committed approximately $69.5 million to three industrial property developments in Houston, Indianapolis and Kansas City. Altogether, the portfolio comprises approximately 1.37 million square feet of industrial properties across six target markets.

Initial Fund acquisitions include four infill industrial properties that were acquired through off-market and auction transactions totaling nine buildings and approximately 825,000 square feet in Marietta (Atlanta), Georgia; Lenexa (Kansas City), Kansas; Plymouth (Minneapolis), Minnesota; and Tempe (Phoenix), Arizona, providing immediate cash flow at favorable property level returns.

The infill industrial properties under development were sourced through off-market transactions, totaling five buildings and approximately 432,000 square feet in Houston, Texas, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Lenexa (Kansas City), Kansas delivering strong cash yields upon stabilization and enhancing overall Fund returns.

“We are excited to have achieved our commitment target of $100 million in Fund IV with a diverse group of investors who align with our goals of achieving solid long-term cash yield-driven returns through disciplined property selection, best in-class property management and conservative financing,” says Mark Spotts, Chief Financial Officer of the Fund sponsor, Meritex. “With a fully integrated sponsor, the Fund benefits from a seasoned leadership team, our national presence of on-the-ground expertise and a multi-generational track record.”

With more than 106 years of industrial real estate management and ownership, Meritex prides itself on being disciplined, well-researched investors. The Fund will follow the same investment thesis and source investment opportunities that provide a balance of meaningful annual cash returns, and long-term real estate appreciation.

“Meritex believes in the strength of our infill industrial portfolio, our team, and the company's long-term vision,” says Tom Hotovec, President. “We have committed 20 percent of the equity in the Fund and look forward to participating alongside our investors.”

The Fund is targeting approximately $250 million in industrial investment properties within ten U.S. target markets.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Meritex has reached full occupancy in the Charlotte metro area. Tenants now occupy more than one million sq. ft. of space in its 18 building Charlotte portfolio, demonstrating the continued demand for spaces to accommodate a wide range of industries including manufacturing, IT, transportation and logistics, retail, automotive, and more.

“Leasing activity in Charlotte has been strong throughout the start of the year,” says Mike Malta, Senior Property Manager for Charlotte. “In the first quarter alone, we had major leases including Alliance Power, Sunbelt Rentals, Air General, and Stryten Energy LLC.”

The foregoing tenants were respectively represented by Brian Smith of Regent Commercial Real Estate, Scott Dumler of Cresa Partners, Rich Grieder of Jones, Lang, LaSalle (JLL) Charlotte and Joe Wilkinson of NAI Southern Real Estate. Meritex is represented in Charlotte by Brian Craver and Casey Mulhern with Foundry Commercial and by Justin Smith and Rob Spier with Colliers International – Charlotte.

The leasing activity primarily centers around CLT Logistics Center, a 14-building business park with almost 800,000 square feet of industrial space. Meritex acquired the then 11 building, 583,021-square-foot, Class A park in 2016, and subsequently developed three additional buildings. The new buildings were designed with modern users in mind, and feature 32’ clear heights, efficient column spacing, LED lighting with motion sensors, ESFR sprinkler system, high dock ratio count, pit levelers, an abundance of natural light with clerestory windows, ample trailer storage, and 60’ speed bays. The development project was completed in mid-2019.

“The strong leasing activity we’re seeing in Charlotte is part of a larger national trend,” says Dan Ward, Regional Manager for the Charlotte area. “Demand for space is outweighing supply, even as developers acquire and build warehouse, industrial, and logistics spaces at a rapid rate.”

The increasing need for space is reflected across nearly all industries and markets. In a recent survey of more than 150 tenants across the nation, Meritex found that 92 percent will need either the same or increased warehouse space in the foreseeable future.

Meritex is proud to announce the promotion of Rose McNeely to Senior Investment Analyst. In her new role, Rose will continue to work on underwriting, due diligence, market research, closing of acquisitions and dispositions, and development opportunities.

“Since joining Meritex in 2019 as an Investment Analyst, Rose has demonstrated a great understanding of the market, strong work ethic, and a passion for the industry,” says Matt Wagner, Senior Director of Investments at Meritex. “She’s been a great asset to our continued growth as we look to expand into new markets and invest in best-in-class properties for our tenants.”

Prior to joining Meritex, Rose worked at CliftonLarsonAllen as an Associate Wealth Advisor, advising clients on financial planning. She also completed internships with U.S. Bank and Meritex while completing her degree at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

If her name sounds familiar, it’s because Rose is not new to the Meritex family. Rose is the fourth generation of the McNeely family to work at Meritex since its inception in 1916.

“We’re excited to have Rose on the team,” adds Paddy McNeely, CEO of Meritex and Rose’s father. “Family member participation is important to the future growth and success of the company.”

Congratulations, Rose!

We are proud to announce that Mark Scheierl has been promoted to Manager of Finance and Capital Markets as of January 2022. Mark first joined Meritex in June 2017 as a Senior Accountant and moved to the Finance team in April of 2019 as a Capital Markets Analyst.

“Mark has eagerly participated in many projects across many departments, quickly understanding how they impact the company,” says Mark Spotts, Chief Financial Officer of Meritex. “Mark’s strong analytical skills, relationship focus, and ability to consistently create beneficial outcomes and think ahead made him a terrific member of our Accounting and Finance team, and will serve him well in his new role.”

As part of his new role, Mark will be managing financing transactions and loan compliance, monitoring our financial condition, and assisting with investor relations for various Meritex equity partners.

Congratulations, Mark!