©2025 Real Estate Publishing Corporation
May 2025 • VOL. 42 No. 2
Finalist and Winners! Page 20
Founders Properties’ Wade Lau: Don’t expect the Twin Cities industrial market to lose its momentum anytime soon By Dan Rafter, Editor
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till strong. That’s the best way to describe the industrial market in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. What’s behind this strength? Ecommerce is still fueling much of the demand for industrial space. Companies still need distribution centers across the country to deliver their products and warehouse space to store it. And they are looking for these spaces across the country, including in the Twin Cities. At the same time, the push to bring manufacturing back to the United States is inspiring more companies
to open industrial facilities in the country, providing another boost to industrial demand. While the Twin Cities market isn’t a big distribution market, because of its location, the Minneapolis-St. Paul region is still seeing strong demand for industrial space. We spoke with Wade Lau, president and chief executive officer of Minnetonka, Minnesota-based real estate investment management company Founders Properties, about the resilience of the local industrial market and what the future might hold for it. Here is some of what he had to say.
What makes industrial properties, in the Twin Cities area and across the country, such a good asset type for investors?
Wade Lau: The investment characteristics are really solid. Vacancies have held up well over the long term. It’s an investment that cash flows, unlike office, which doesn’t cash-flow particularly well. But there are also strong tailwinds, strong megatrends, that are benefitting industrial. Ecommerce is still a big driver of industrial demand. The need for last-mile warehouse space is not slowing. That trend Founders to page 18
Twin Cities metro area scores another big industrial lease: Schimberg Co. opens first location in Minnesota By Dan Rafter, Editor
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he suburbs surrounding the Twin Cities continue to attract new tenants looking for industrial space. An example? Just look at a recent lease in suburban Woodbury. Schimberg Co., a regional pipe, valves and fittings supply company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, recently opened its first Minnesota location with a new lease in the Royal Gateway Commerce Center in Woodbury. Schimberg becomes the first occupant in the commerce center’s Building B.
What attracted Schimberg to the building? John Young, vice president- advisory with Forte Real Estate Partners, represented the company in its search for the right site. He said that several factors attracted Schimberg to the Woodbury location. One of the most important? The quality of the workforce in and around the region. “Officials with Schimberg believed that they would have a great workforce from eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin,” Young said. “That was a big factor
for them. And it’s a workforce particular to the industry, people who know how to run heavy equipment and drive a truck. Schimberg knew that it could attract those employees to this Woodbury location.” Schimberg also found the right building, Young said. Royal Gateway Commerce Center Building B features 28-foot clear heights, something that was critical to Schimberg. The higher clear height allows Schimberg to do their racking properly and efficiently, Young said. Metro to page 19