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<br /> Marketing: new approach
<br /> New Brighton knows that it's a toughmarket for
<br /> the east side of the highway. fee based on the amount of •
<br /> ;industrial and office parks,so it's trying a new way. Then the recession hit and land sold,capped at$100,000
<br /> things slowed down. But, for the entire 20 acres.
<br /> "' thanks to the boomingrent- The Welsh-Ryan team was
<br /> fBy pON JACOBSON of most cities,and even all but al apartment market, New tapped after a city screening
<br /> special to the Star Tribune the most experienced of CRE Brighton announced this process that also:included in-
<br /> professionals. spring that Bloomington- terviews with the Opus Group
<br /> With so little office and "Cities involved in redevel- based StuartCo had purchased for developer services and
<br /> 'commercial development go- opment need to think outside four acres just north of the APi Northmarq Commercial Real
<br /> ing on these days,cities trying the box nowadays," he said. Group buildings for a 124-unit Estate Services for the land
<br /> to lure builders to their vacant "The have to think creative- apartment complex. brokerage component.
<br /> industrial and office parks face ly about how they market in The office development Arne Cook,who served on
<br /> a steep challenge. How can these situations." market,however,hasn't recov- the screening panel, said the
<br /> they manage to put togeth- That's why New Brighton ered yet as the city completes economy and the state of to-
<br /> er all the pieces of a develop- has moved to assemble a real prep work on the majority of day's office real estate market
<br /> merit puzzle that was difficult estate marketing and develop- New Brighton Exchange's 20- are bigger challenges to over-
<br /> even without the headwinds of ment"dream team" of Welsh acre eastern section,which in- come than New Brighton Ex-
<br /> the stressed current real estate Cos.and Ryan Cos.in a unique eludes two big"billboard par- change's complicated environ-
<br /> market? hybrid arrangement though cels"with clear visibility from mental history. •
<br /> It seems nearly every city which it hopes to cast the wid-
<br /> and suburb in the Twin Cit- est net possible in attracting (( THERE'S A SHORTAGE OF
<br /> ies metro area has parcels for office users to a section of the GOOD [COMMERCIAL] SITES
<br /> sale in an industrial or office New Brighton Exchange proj-
<br /> :,park.In many cases,the land ect that's coming online. INSIDE THE 696/494 LOOP. ))
<br /> has been reclaimed from shut- New Brighton Exchange is u
<br /> tered landfills or closed busi- a long-running,$85 million ef- Ame Cook of Anderson-KM Builders
<br /> nesses and required millions fort by the city to rehabilitate . ' ' '
<br /> of dollars to clean up. The what used to be known as the along I-694. "Although commercial de-
<br /> parcels often are strategical- Northwest Quadrant—a 100- , Femelius said hiring of both velopment has slowed, it's
<br /> ly located along major high- acre area abutting the intersec- Welsh and Ryan to market the starting to rebound,and when
<br /> ways or near rail hubs and are tion of Interstates 694&35W, sites will provide prospec- new buildings do get built,us-
<br /> close-in to the urban core — the second-busiest `freeway tive office users with a "one- ers will be going to the best
<br /> something that has become a interchange in the Twin Cit- stop shop"—the Welsh team, sites first,"said Cook,of new-
<br /> ;trendy feature for commercial ies metro. headed by by Craig Lien,Lou ly launched Anderson-KM
<br /> real estate users since the last The acreage, which is bi- Suarez and Ted Gonsior,will Builders. "There's a shortage
<br /> recession. sected by Old Hwy.8,once was scout out land buyers while of good sites inside the 696/494 r,41
<br /> •Cities with such sites have home to an oil refinery,a sol- Ryan,led by Vice President of loop."
<br /> more going for them than they vent plant, several rendering Development Casey Hankin- Cook said New Brighton
<br /> used to in terms of location and plants,a gas station and private son,will offer its expertise in "put its best foot forward"with -'41
<br /> desirability,but the downside dumps.It cost around$21 mil- constructing the prospective its hybrid-team approach."The i
<br /> is that the market is so crowd- lion just to clean up the con- buildings. city is ready and has all the con-
<br /> ed with desperate sellers and tamination and provide suit- "We have a lot of expertise cerns checked off for anyone
<br /> distressed properties available able soil for development. in the New Brighton Exchange who wants to build there? •,rq ..-,
<br /> for next to nothing that con- Earlier parts of the project because we developed the first There has been more activ-
<br /> siderable marketing punch is have met with some success. two buildings there and know ity in the office and industrial 1
<br /> needed to break through the In 2007,APi Group Inc.con- about all of the issues involved," markets in the last six months I
<br /> clutter, says a New Brighton strutted a three-story corpo- Hankinson said."This is a great than at any time in the last
<br /> official whose city is trying to rate headquarters building of spot for future development, three years,Cook said,noting N
<br /> do just that. about 60,000 square feet,plus with very high visibility." ' his new firm is seeing a good "'-I
<br /> Community Development a 10,000-sqaure-foot multi- Ryan will not have exclu- flow of activity.
<br /> Director Grant Fernelius,who's tenant office building,on the sive development rights un- "We're cautiously optimis-
<br /> in charge of attracting takers west side of Hwy.8.The corn- ,der the arrangement, Ferne- tic,"he added."We're not naive
<br /> to the city's New Brighton Ex- pany has promised to con- lius said.The city is free to sell enough to think it's going to be
<br /> change redevelopment project, struct another building in the the land to any user,whether like the good old days.".
<br /> said the challenges of negotiat- park,which is still pending. or not they want to work with
<br /> ing the treacherous terrain of Later that year, Transoma Ryan.If that happens,he said, Don Jacobson is a St.Paul-based free-
<br /> today's commercial real estate Medical built an 118,000- the city would be obligated to lance writer.
<br /> niarket are beyond the ability square-foot office building on pay the company a break-up
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