PROJECT ENGAGEMENT SNAPSHOT

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPER

The Need

Explosive e-commerce growth has driven demand for warehouse and fulfillment space closer to end-user customers. To this end, Mortenson partnered with a well-known local developer to transform a 1.75 million-square-foot industrial former superfund site in Fridley, Minnesota, into a 122-acre state-of-the-art industrial distribution and office / warehouse business park. 

This project faced unique challenges, including:

  • Coordinating with multiple regulatory agencies at the federal, state and local levels
  • Coordinating cleanup and redevelopment activities with U.S. Navy-operated groundwater treatment on site
  • Demolishing most of the large main building on-site, while keeping BAE Systems, a British defense, security and aerospace company, as an operating tenant within the remaining building

The Solution

Mortenson worked closely with the developer to meet a tight timeline that required working on shell building and tenant improvements simultaneously. This involved extensive cleanup of the environmentally contaminated site, rezoning of the site into a modern industrial zoning standard, demolishing of the existing 2 million-square-foot 1940s era building and constructing over 1 million square feet of new industrial buildings. These spaces were then customized for tenants looking to lease space in a strategic location that would allow for them to quickly reach clients and talent.

The Result

Mortenson helped transform the industrial site and build seven new urban warehouses with ~1.75 million square feet of build-to-suit space for businesses. The project attracted a variety of tenant types with needs across technology, distribution, processing and retail spaces and access to talent, transportation and resources vital to the successes of their businesses. To date, the site has secured 77% of leases for a total of 1,240,000 square feet. Tenants include BAE Systems, VStar, MB2 Raceway, Dero Bike Racks, OnTrac, Trio Supply Co., Axalta, Kaufman Container and Lindenmeyr Munroe.

 

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