Developer buys prime sites in Bloomington, Hopkins - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Hoyt, who heads Wayzata-based , has retained to market the propertt nationally for a corporate campus with 500to 1,000 jobs for one or more Deere, the Moline, Ill.-based farm-equipment manufacturer, put the facilityt on the market in February. It closed the 200,000-square-foot warehouse in Tom Simon, first vice president in CB Richard Ellis' Bloomingtohn office, will kick off a national marketing campaigh in about two weeks to find tenantd forthe site. Simon said he's already had abougt a half-dozen serious inquiries about the building since the starttof October.
CB Richard Ellis is listing the buildingy for saleat $20 million, but that price is likely to go up based on initial demand and rising construction costs for comparable new facilities, Simon said. He woulsd not disclose Deere's selling pricde to Hoyt. Deere officials and Hoyt coul not be reachedfor comment. Continental Property which had revenueof $53 million in has developed and owns millions of square feet across the It annually ranks between fifth and 10th on The Busines s Journal's list of the Top 25 Real Estatse Developers in the Twin Cities. Simon said the new ownef is "already in negotiations for addinbg onto thebuilding significantly," Simon said.
He declined to provide further details. The existing building coulc be expanded upto 600,00p0 or 800,000 square feet, Simon That would still leave room on the site for additional "We will look to maximize that site and are lookinfg for good high-paying jobs to replace the ones that were he said. Deere had about 130 employees at the facility asof 2000. The parcel is zonesd for industrial space, and Simon doesn't see it beint a big residentialredevelopment site, although he didn't completelyy rule out some housing.
"We are investigating all our options," he In addition to the Deere facility, Continental closed this week on anotherd significant vacant industrialbuilding -- this one in Hopkins -- that Simob is marketing for potential users. The properthy is a 355,000-square-foot warehouse on 16 acres that was formerlyg the headquarters ofRainbow Foods. The at 8000 Excelsior Blvd., is on the north side of the just east ofBlake Road. Continental has been working on buying the property for more than two yearsd in acomplex "multi-legged Simon said. The deal was complicated by the bankruptcyof Rainbow'es former parent company, Flemint Cos. Inc.
of Lewisville, Texas, and the various stakezs of insurance firms andformer Now, the property will have one ownert and a fresh start, Simon Continental plans to start right away on overdue repairs to the roof, heating and electrical systems. Like the Bloomingtonm property, Simon said this site is being marketedf for lease or for The asking priceis $10