NorthMarq Gets $203M for MN Acquisition

MINNEAPOLIS—NorthMarq Capital's Minneapolis office recently arranged a $203.5 million loan on behalf of MetLife and Allstate Insurance Company/Allstate Life Insurance Company for their acquisition of Normandale Lake Office Park. The partners bought the five-tower complex in suburban Bloomington from Sam Zell's Equity Group Investments for a little bit more than $368 million, or roughly $100 million more than Chicago-based Equity paid for it in 2012. Northwestern Mutual is the lender.

The complex is one of the most notable office properties in the Twin Cities and consists of 1.7-million-square-feet of space, more than the CBD's 55-story IDS Center. The purchase was just one of many big recent sales in the Twin Cities area as investors move in to take advantage of the region's burgeoning economy. Florida-based Beacon Investment Properties LLC bought the IDS Center in 2013 for $253 million, for example, and KBS REIT II, Inc. just sold 601 Tower at Carlson Center in suburban Minnetonka to Artis REIT for $75 million.

Normandale sits on 23 acres overlooking the 2,500-acre Normandale Lake Recreational Area. Tenants occupy 93% of the park, an increase of 10% since Zell's company bought it. Many of the largest tenants have been there for more than 20 years. The tenant roster includes companies such as Prime Therapeutics, Aon Benfield, Schwan's, Towers Watson, Tata Consultancy Services, Emerson Corporation and Oracle Corporation. The sale was the second largest suburban office sale in the US so far this year, according to NorthMarq officials. 

“We are proud to have been a part of the team that brokered and financed the largest deal in Minnesota in 2014,” says Patrick S. Minea, senior vice president and managing director of NorthMarq Capital's Minneapolis office. The Minneapolis team also includes James Hoopes, senior vice president and senior director; Daniel Trebil, senior vice president and managing director; Michael Padilla, vice president; and Jon Miller, vice president.