Ryan Companies completes sale of Class A office tower on heels of leasing surge that saw nearly 300,000 SF of deal volume over 18-month span
Bridge Investment Group LLC’s (Bridge) subsidiary Bridge Office Fund (Bridge Office) announced today the acquisition of 10 West End, an 11-story, 343,000-square-foot Class A office building in St. Louis Park, Minn. The purchase bolsters Bridge’s Minneapolis footprint to more than 1.4 million square feet and reflects the firm’s national strategy of acquiring high-performing, well-located office assets in markets that are positioned to take advantage of the growing flight-to-quality trend by employers.
Ryan Companies US, Inc. (Ryan), a national commercial real estate solutions provider, sold the building in conjunction with The Excelsior Group (TEG) and Sotarra LLC. The sellers oversaw the successful development and lease-up of the LEED silver certified office tower after breaking ground in 2019, with nearly 300,000 square feet of leasing activity occurring since the building opened in January 2021.
Located in the fast-growing West End office submarket, 10 West End offers an unrivaled live-work-play environment with premier dining, retail and entertainment destinations surrounding the property, along with several apartments and hotels. The building offers an abundance of amenities including a bike room, on-site parking, electric vehicle charging, fitness center, high-tech facilities, proximity to public transportation, sky deck and park access. 10 West End is the first Class A office building constructed in the submarket in the last 18 years.
Tom O’Brien, Avery Ticer, Dan Phoel and Jeff Altenau with Cushman & Wakefield represented Ryan in the sale.
“10 West End exemplifies what today’s employers are looking for in the office market and is poised to thrive in the years ahead given the property’s exceptional quality, location and amenity base,” said Edward Neblett, associate at Bridge. “Ryan and its strategic partners have done a remarkable job developing the property and cultivating a diverse set of tenants that relocated from across the market. The building is a talent hub and demonstrates that despite recent challenges and uncertainty, the office market has bright days ahead as owners and developers pivot to address the new needs of today’s workforce.”
“Bridge’s expertise in the office sector makes them the ideal group to take on the ownership of 10 West End,” said Peter Fitzgerald, vice president of real estate development, Ryan Companies. “The leasing success and sale of 10 West End are proof that tenants and investors want best-in-class assets.”
Since 2015, Ryan has delivered more than 5 million square feet of office space. The partners developed 10 West End on a speculative basis, and despite the headwinds of a pandemic, supply chain issues and economic disruption, the project has outperformed projections. Ryan, TEG and Sotarra are planning a second phase – 20 West End – to be built immediately south of 10 West End.
The acquisition represents Bridge’s next phase of expansion in Minneapolis, with the firm previously acquiring West End Office Park, a 560,000-square foot Class A creative office campus less than half a mile away from 10 West End, in late 2020. Bridge also owns the 508,000-square foot Excelsior Crossings office campus in nearby Hopkins. The firm’s national office portfolio totals 13.1 million square feet across 14 states.
“Ryan Cos., The Excelsior Group, and Sotarra are best-in-class in our industry, and that’s reflected in the quality and success of 10 West End,” said Tom O’Brien, executive director at Cushman & Wakefield. “Similarly, Bridge has been one of the top investors and operators in our region and across the U.S. for the past few years and has built an impressive portfolio. This transaction is a win-win for both parties, as well as the Twin Cities office market.”
According to a recent report from Cushman & Wakefield, Minneapolis tallied the lowest unemployment rate (1.7%) of all U.S. markets tracked by the firm in Q3. The overall vacancy rate in the Twin Cities declined by 40 basis points while average asking rents continued to slightly increase across the market.
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