Meritex :: News

After a century in business, we’re still looking to the future. Catch up on our latest news.

Meritex Acquires 120,000+ sq. ft. Class A Industrial Property in Houston

April 18, 2023 Houston, TX

Meritex has closed on the purchase of Century Plaza DC IV, a 120,022 sq. ft. Class A industrial building. The property is located at 350 Century Plaza Drive, Houston, Texas, in the deed-restricted Century Plaza Business Park. Century Plaza DC IV benefits from great accessibility, significant logistical advantages with proximity to I-45 (less than one mile) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (10 miles), and freeport tax exemption availability.

“Our investment strategy was to acquire a newly constructed, best-in-class asset in a superior in-fill location,” explains Drew Evans, director of acquisitions for Meritex in Texas. “The building as it stands today includes 2,600 sq. ft. of spec office, multiple HVLS fans, speed-bay lighting, 30K lb. mechanical levelers, and is move-in ready.”

The site was one of the last undeveloped parcels within Century Plaza Business Park. The project is surrounded by Class A product, national credit tenants, and institutional ownership including Prologis, Exeter and Nuveen.

Ben Lieser, regional manager for both Minnesota and Texas adds, “We’ve had a presence in the Houston market since 2005 and continue to seek out opportunities as net absorption keeps pace with new deliveries and leasing demand remains strong.”

Century Plaza DC IV features 22 dock-high doors, two drive-in doors, a 32’ clear height, ESFR sprinkler system, and includes space for two single storefronts.

Meritex Hires Megan Lively as an Investment Analyst

April 10, 2023 Minneapolis, MN

Join us in welcoming our newest hire, Megan Lively. Megan is joining Meritex as an Investment Analyst and will work out of our Minneapolis office. In her new role, she will provide analytical support to the Investments team in the areas of evaluation, underwriting, due diligence investigation, and closing of industrial real estate investments nationally, including direct equity, leveraged, joint venture, preferred equity, and other structured finance investments.

Meritex is actively seeking investment opportunities in each of its target markets with a focus on highly functional infill industrial assets that provide a value-creation opportunity. We are currently pursuing multiple opportunities in markets with attractive employment and population growth trends over the long term.

“We’re excited to add Megan to the Meritex family,” says Matt Wagner, Senior Director of Investments. “Her background in brokerage and leasing will make her a fantastic addition to the team as we continue to seek out exciting investment opportunities.”

Megan most recently worked at JLL as an Associate Broker, assisting clients in site selection, financial analysis, negotiations, and lease or sale execution. She also listed properties for lease, created marketing content, and actively prospected potential lessees.

Join us in welcoming Megan!

Scott Perpich Promoted to Assistant Controller

January 12, 2023 Minneapolis, MN

We’re excited to announce that Scott Perpich has been promoted to assistant controller. Scott is a Meritex veteran, joining us as an accounting manager nearly eight years ago. Throughout Scott’s time with Meritex, he has grown into an integral leader of the accounting team.

“Scott’s focus on relationships, thinking ahead, accountability and beneficial outcomes has contributed to many important accomplishments,” explains Brad Bowman, controller at Meritex. “He has more than earned this new role.”

Scott’s notable accomplishments include helping to build and maintain a high performing accounting team, overseeing all audit and tax reporting, and improving a streamlined budget and reporting process.

As assistant controller, Scott will continue to lead the day-to-day accounting operations and expand his leadership responsibilities.

Congratulations, Scott!

Tom Hotovec Named CEO of Meritex

November 29, 2022 Minneapolis, MN

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.”

Emily Ehleringer Hired as Corporate Accountant

August 9, 2022 Minneapolis, MN

Join us in welcoming the newest member of the Meritex team - Emily Ehleringer. Emily was hired as a Corporate Accountant working out of our Minneaoplis office. In her new role, she will provide corporate level accounting services and assist with reporting functions, treasury management services, accounting, and budget support.

While this will be her first full-time position at Meritex, Emily is not new to the company. She worked as an Accounting Intern for Meritex from January 2019 to May 2020 while in her junior year of college at the University of St. Thomas. Emily graduated in 2021.

Since 2021, Emily has been working as a Tax Consultant for Deloitte, where she was responsible for preparing and filing corporate, partnership and individual tax returns, tax provision review, client invoicing, and taxable income modeling.

“We’re excited to have Emily return to the team,” says Scott Perpich, Accounting Manager at Meritex. “She impressed us during her internship, and we look forward to helping her continue to learn and grow as she develops in her career.”

Meritex Leases Recently Redeveloped Parkers Lake Commerce Center

July 28, 2022 Minneapolis, MN

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.

Customer Story: MVP Logistics

June 29, 2022 Minneapolis, MN

Relationships matter. That’s a core philosophy shared by Meritex and one of its tenants, MVP Logistics. By creating partnerships and putting people first, both companies have been able to grow, thrive, and find a like-minded partnership.

MVP Logistics started in August 2007 as an idea on a restaurant napkin. From humble beginnings, they have grown into a large company with a robust fleet and a headquarters in Plymouth. This allows them to make the complex world of supply chain manageable for companies by providing international freight and warehousing services. When it comes to logistics, they can do anything from sushi to hazardous waste. You name it, they’ve moved it.

While they have a national reach, everything starts at home in their Plymouth-based headquarters, which is where Meritex comes in. MVP Logistics currently occupies 200,000 square feet within Parkers Lake Commerce Center. MVP has been located there for several years and uses the space for distribution and fulfillment. Every day, MVP picks and packs orders for clothing, fishing rods, lawn mowers, appliances, and more, loads them on trucks, and sends them out.

Meritex acquired the Parkers Lake Commerce Center in 2021, and quickly worked to build a relationship with tenants to find the best ways to support them.

“Meritex acquired the building we were in. We signed a new lease right before Meritex acquired us, so we stayed,” said Dirk Updike, VP of Operations MVP Logistics. “But, we’re happy with the building and situation we’re currently in. They’re the best property management firm I’ve ever worked with.”

Ultimately, Meritex aims to support tenants and ensure they can do their important work without having to worry about their space. The Parkers Lake facility is no different. Dirk added that Dan Mattice, the Meritex maintenance engineer who handles maintenance at the property, takes great care of them. He’s always there within thirty minutes if there’s any issue, he’s solution-oriented, he never complains, and he is on the look-out for ways to support the team whenever possible.

Dirk adds, “I appreciate the responsiveness of the entire team. Anyone you need to talk to is willing to talk to you. The management team calls to check-in. They follow through, they call, they ask questions, they take care of the problems and solve the issues. In the grand scheme of things, they really do care about us as a partner. Dan especially cares that we’re his tenant, and he likes to make sure we’re taken care of.”

The team at Meritex is dedicated to partnering with MVP Logistics to ensure their continued success at Parkers Lake Commerce Center.

Meritex Industrial Fund IV Closes Commitment Period

June 28, 2022 Minneapolis, MN

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.

Meritex Welcomes Three Summer Interns

June 13, 2022 Minneapolis, MN

Join us in welcoming the newest members of the Meritex family, Jeffrey Trinh, Riley Gill, and Shelli Muller. All three will be joining us as interns in our Minneapolis headquarters for the summer.

“We value the opportunity to host summer interns,” says Tom Hotovec, President at Meritex. “They provide valuable work, and even better, we get the chance to mentor the future of the industry and share our people-first values.”

Jeffrey Trinh, a junior pursuing a Finance major and a Business Law minor at Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, will serve as our Operations Intern. In his role, he will help gather, analyze and report on data surrounding key operation and financial activities including historical performance, budgets and valuations. His work will provide insights to management regarding the business operations, performance, and market trends.

During the previous school year, Jeffrey was chosen from a class of 800 to be one of 17 undergraduate students working on client projects with Carlson MBA students. He was also one of forty-eight students nationally selected to engage in a recruitment program exploring opportunities in equity capital markets including equity research, global investment banking, and institutional sales and trading.

Riley Gill, the new Investment Intern, is a senior majoring in Real Estate Studies and Entrepreneurship at the University of Saint Thomas. In his role, Riley will provide analytical support to the investments team in the areas of evaluation, underwriting, due diligence, investigation and closing of real estate investments including direct equity, leveraged, joint venture, preferred equity and other structured finance investments.

Riley currently works as a snowboard coach and has previously worked as a landscaper and apprentice plumber.

Shelli Muller, a senior majoring in Accounting at Saint Catherine University, will serve as the Accounting Intern for Meritex this summer. Shelli will be responsible for a variety of accounting and finance tasks including general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and financial analysis. She will also assist Scott Perpich, Accounting Manager at Meritex, in the preparation of monthly reporting packages.

Shelli has previously worked as a care provider, planning educational and creative activities for the child she works with, and as a volunteer at Regions Hospital, where she welcomed visitors, helped make patients comfortable and aware of information available to them, and served as a liaison between patients and staff.

Welcome to the Meritex family, Jeffrey, Riley and Shelli!

Meritex Reaches 100 Percent Occupancy in Charlotte

May 25, 2022 Charlotte, NC

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.

Samuel Asfahl Has Accepted the Role of Finance & Capital Markets

May 18, 2022 Minneapolis, MN

We are pleased to announce Samuel Asfahl has accepted the role of Finance and Capital Markets Analyst. He first joined Meritex a little over a year ago as a Senior Corporate Accountant.

In his new role, Sam will work with the finance team, assisting with lender compliance and investor relation functions.

“Sam has shown tremendous potential during his time at Meritex,” says Mark Scheierl, Manager of Finance and Capital Markets. “We know he’ll excel in his new role, and we’re excited to add his strategic analysis and modeling skills to the capital markets team.”

Sam began his career as an audit intern with US Bank in 2016. He then joined Ernst & Young where he worked a tax accountant for more than two years. Immediately prior to joining Meritex, Sam spent a year at Direct Travel working as a staff accountant.

Meritex Promotes Rose McNeely to Senior Investment Analyst

May 2, 2022 Minneapolis, MN

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!

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