The Meritex Company announces the execution of a 144,000 square-foot lease with US Venture, a leader in the distribution of petroleum and renewable energy products, lubricants, tires and parts for the automotive aftermarket. The company will occupy the entire building of Highcrest III, which was completed last quarter.

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Highcrest II & III in Roseville, Minnesota (Photo: Business Wire)

Highcrest II & III in Roseville, Minnesota (Photo: Business Wire)

“Our leasing success demonstrates the strength of the market and the desirability of the product type we delivered,” says Ben Lieser, regional manager at Meritex. “It is rare to have a building fully leased so close to completion, and with a lease of that size.”

In 2018, less than 5 percent of the deals in this submarket were greater than 100,000 square-feet.

“Total vacancy in this product type’s submarket is just 6.8 percent,” Lieser added. “Vacancy rates are low and quality spaces in excellent locations are leasing quickly.”

Highcrest II, also completed last quarter, currently has one tenant, a multinational company that is thrilled to be in a brand-new building conveniently located to their customers. The building currently has 108,000 sq. feet of space still available for lease.

“We’ve seen an increase in companies looking to take advantage of the 32’ clear height and excellent access to Interstate 35W,” says Lieser. “This development is closer to downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul than any other recent industrial development, which also makes it particularly attractive to distributors.”

The two state-of-the-art 144,000-square-feet bulk-distribution buildings that make up Highcrest II and III were completed in December 2018. The development followed the acquisition and demolition of a 360,000-sq.-ft. industrial property, formerly known as the Minnesota Technology Exchange building.

Highcrest II and III are located across the street from Meritex’s fully-leased, 130,000-sq.-ft., Class A office-warehouse known as Highcrest Distribution Center I. It is currently home to Asmodee, a publisher of board games, card games and role-playing games, and Café Imports, an independent importer and developer of some of the world's finest specialty green coffees.

The Cushman & Wakefield team of David Stokes, Todd Hanson, Jason Sell, Chris Weirens and Ian Thompson are handling leasing services.

About The Meritex Company
The Meritex Company is the expert in putting properties and people together, offering the flexibility and innovation of a family-owned company, with the discipline and governance of a much larger business. With more than a century of experience providing light industrial real estate to companies at every stage of their growth, Meritex offers spaces that allow businesses to grow, evolve, and redefine themselves as needed. Meritex owns, develops and manages approximately 10 million square feet of institutional grade, multi-tenant space made up of more than 90 properties, ensuring that each is capable of meeting the demands of its dynamic tenant base. The broad selection in eight markets – Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbus, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Phoenix – means companies will find the right place to take care of business, while receiving responsive service and great solutions for their space needs, now and into the future. The Meritex Company is headquartered in Minneapolis.