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

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Hoyt, who heads Wayzata-based , has retainesd to market the propertuy nationally for a corporate campus with 500to 1,000o jobs for one or more companies. Deere, the Ill.-based farm-equipment manufacturer, put the facility on the markegtin February. It closed the 200,000-square-foot warehous in April. Tom Simon, first vice president in CB Richards Ellis' Bloomington office, will kick off a national marketingv campaign in about two weeks to find tenants for the Simonsaid he's already had abou a half-dozen serious inquiries aboutr the building since the start of October.
CB Richar Ellis is listing the buildinb for saleat $20 million, but that price is likelyh to go up based on initial demand and rising constructiomn costs for comparable new facilities, Simon said. He wouldf not disclose Deere's selling price to Deere officials and Hoyt could not be reachefdfor comment. Continental Property Group, which had revenue of $53 millio in 2004, has developed and owns milliona of square feet acrossthe country. It annually ranksw between fifth and 10th on TheBusiness Journal's list of the Top 25 Real Estate Developers in the Twin Cities. Simonj said the new owner is "already in negotiationsx for adding onto the building Simon said.
He declinex to provide further details. The existinf building could be expanded upto 600,000 or 800,000o square feet, Simon said. That wouldf still leave room on the site foradditionak development. "We will look to maximize that site and are lookingy forgood high-paying jobs to replacr the ones that were he said. Deere had about 130 employees at the facilityh asof 2000. The parcel is zoned for industrialk space, and Simon doesn't see it beingf a big residentialredevelopment site, although he didn't completely rule out some "We are investigating all our he said.
In addition to the Deerw facility, Continental closed this week on anothef significant vacant industrialbuilding -- this one in Hopkins -- that Simo is marketing for potential users. The property is a 355,000-square-foot warehouse on 16 acrees that was formerly the headquarterws ofRainbow Foods. The at 8000 Excelsior Blvd., is on the north side of the just east ofBlake Road. Continentap has been working on buyint the property for more than two years in acomplex "multi-legged Simon said. The deal was complicated by the bankruptcygof Rainbow's former parent Fleming Cos. Inc.
of Lewisville, Texas, and the variouss stakes of insurance firms andformer Now, the property will have one ownert and a fresh start, Simon Continental plans to start rightr away on overdue repairs to the roof, heating and electricalp systems. Like the Bloomington property, Simon said this site is being marketesd for lease orfor sale. The asking price is $10