The Meritex Company (“Meritex”), through its Meritex Industrial Fund IV, is excited to announce the acquisition of Stafford Park Business Center, a three-building, 278,224 sq. ft. Class A industrial park. The property is currently 100% leased to 12 tenants with a weighted average lease term of approximately three years.

Located in the Southwest Houston industrial submarket, the property offers easy access to U.S. Highway 59 and 90, and Beltway 8 via West Airport Boulevard, providing superior multidirectional connectivity. The property was built in 2005 and features 78 dock-high doors, 10 drive-in doors, clear heights between 20’ - 24’, and an ESFR sprinkler system. The property’s average tenant tenure of 10 years is a testament to Stafford Park Business Center’s mission-critical location and functionality.

“Stafford Park Business Center is well positioned to continue its strong performance due to its direct proximity to the growing population base of West and Southwest Houston and increasing land constraints in the Southwest Industrial Market,” says Drew Evans, Director of Acquisitions for Meritex. Evans explains, “The submarket has limited remaining industrial land sites, creating greater demand for well-located and highly functional properties like Stafford Park Business Center.”

“The market in Houston is and will continue to be a priority for us,” says Ben Lieser, Regional Manager for Meritex’s Minnesota and Texas portfolio. “With this strategic acquisition, Meritex now owns properties in Houston’s most desirable industrial submarkets.”

Trent Agnew, Charles Strauss, Lance Young, and Brooke Petzold of JLL represented the seller in this transaction. The property will be managed by Jessica Porras, Senior Property Manager of Stream Realty.

The Meritex Company (“Meritex”) through its Meritex Industrial Fund IV has broken ground on Decatur Airpark, a new state-of-the-art 80,052 square foot class A industrial project located at 4925 Decatur Boulevard within the AmeriPlex Business Park adjacent to the Indianapolis International Airport. The development is designed to accommodate multiple users and features rear load configuration with double row parking, 28’ clear height, 142’ truck court, trailer or outside storage, two speculative office suites with modern interiors, LED lighting with motion sensors, ESFR sprinkler system, attractive exterior aesthetics, 2,800 amp power service with expansion potential, 14 dock-high doors with z guards, 40,000-lb mechanical levers, swing arm lights, 4 knock-out panels for additional dock doors, 60’ speed bay, 4 drive-in doors, multiple storefronts, clerestory windows, bike racks, social amenities, and nearby access to public transportation. Construction is expected to be completed by December 2023.

Meritex first entered the Indianapolis market in 2003. “We’re excited to continue to grow our portfolio in the area,” says Jill Evans, Regional Manager for Meritex. “Increasing our footprint provides our customers more options, offering flexibility for expansion, leading to potential job growth and more business opportunities for the community.” Decatur Airpark will bring the Meritex Indianapolis footprint to more than 1 million square feet of industrial space.

The newly constructed building will have four storefronts and can be divided to accommodate a wide range of tenant sizes, ranging from 20,000 to 80,000 square feet. The development also includes walking paths to connect through AmeriPlex, an outdoor cornhole and recreation area, and many sustainable and energy efficient features throughout the property. “We designed this project to stand out amongst the market and provide features that focus on enhancing the overall well-being and experience of people that will work at this building. We feel that there is a high demand from both users and occupants for this type of modern design and we can’t wait to deliver this amazing project,” says Matt Wagner, Senior Director of Investments for Meritex. The property also includes a five-year property tax abatement with a two-year extension potential.

“We are still seeing strong demand from users for well-located, shallow, and mid-bay infill industrial product in Indianapolis, as well as nationally. We will continue to actively pursue investment opportunities to develop and acquire multi-tenant infill industrial properties nationally in our target markets,” adds Wagner.

The construction is being completed by The Peterson Company as general contractor. The primary design team includes Kimley-Horn as civil engineer and Curran Architecture. The leasing team is Conrad Jacobs, Sean McHale, and Matt Carroll with Avison Young. The Meritex Company will serve as property manager.

About Meritex Industrial Fund IV:

Meritex Industrial Fund IV (the “Fund”) is a core-plus closed end fund targeting a combination of stabilized and value-add infill industrial properties following Meritex’s strategy and target markets. The Fund currently owns a portfolio of 14 industrial properties across six major U.S. markets consisting of 1.4 million square feet and is managed by Meritex.

Every summer, our internship program welcomes college students to the Meritex family. Lindsey Muntifering, John Kahlmeyer, Chase Bocken, and Blake Crabtree will all be joining us at our Minneapolis headquarters this summer.

“This year’s summer interns were selected for their passion, knowledge, and desire to deepen their skills,” says Susan MacHolda, Chief Human Resources Officer at Meritex. “It’s important to teach the next generation as they enter the workforce, and to continue to mentor them as they shape the future of our industry.”

Lindsey Muntifering, a junior majoring in Human Resource Management and Marketing at Bethel University, will be our HR intern. Lindsey will provide day-to-day support for our HR team. She will work on various projects such as employee onboarding, benefit implementation, and employee engagement.

Lindsey is a Bethel Women’s Varsity Hockey player and has worked as a coach for children ages 10-12.

John Kahlmeyer, our new accounting intern, is a sophomore majoring in Accounting with a minor in Computer Science from the University of St. Thomas. John will be responsible for an array of accounting and finance tasks including general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and financial analysis.

John is a member of the St. Thomas Lacrosse team. In the past, he has coached with the Minnetonka Youth Lacrosse Association, helping players achieve their goals.

Chase Bocken is studying for his Bachelor of Arts in Business, with an emphasis in Finance. The Bethel University senior will serve as our new investment intern. In his role, Chase 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.

Chase is involved in the Royal’s Investment Fund, which is a student-managed, $2 million, all-cap equity fund. He works as a research associate, giving recommendations on stocks and monitoring portfolio holdings.

Our new finance intern is Blake Crabtree. Blake is a junior at The University of St. Thomas, majoring in Financial Management with a minor in Data Analytics. As the finance intern, Blake will be responsible for a variety of financial analyses to gather, analyze, and report on key operational and financial activities including historical performance, budgets, and valuations. His analysis and reporting will provide insight to management regarding business operations, performance, and market trends.

Previously, Blake worked as a millwright apprentice at Millwright Services Inc. in Fort Madison, IA.

We look forward to working alongside future industry leaders each summer and see great value in providing opportunities for the rising professionals of our community. Welcome to the Meritex family, Lindsey, John, Chase, and Blake!

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!

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.