The Complete Guide to Industrial Real Estate in Minneapolis–St. Paul
Who Needs To Be On Your Industrial Real Estate Team?
When buying an industrial building or selecting a site for a major manufacturing project, your choice of partners dictates your project's timeline, budget, and ultimate success. Every industrial project is unique; you won't need every specialist for every deal, but knowing who to engage and when is what prevents costly delays.
One of the most frequent questions we hear from manufacturers and industrial occupiers is: Who needs to be on our team?
To help you visualize the timeline, we map every project across a six-stage journey. As the commercial real estate broker, Modern CRE acts as a true partner and project quarterback through every single step.
Below, we break down these stages and introduce trusted, Twin Cities-based professionals who specialize in these exact phases of acquisitions, expansions, relocations, and build-to-suit industrial projects across Minnesota.
The 6 Stages of the Industrial Real Estate Project Journey
Stage 01 & 02: Define Need & Find Options
Before searching for land or physical buildings, you have to validate your operational goals, budget parameters, and labor needs. Modern CRE acts as your advisor from day one to keep your criteria sharp, and we loop in specialized site search and civil partners the moment we begin looking at locations.
Broker (Present at Every Stage): David Wiegratz (Modern CRE)
David is a Principal at Modern CRE specializing in industrial and manufacturing sectors. He quarterbacks the entire project team, handles site selection and surveying the market, and aligns physical space choices with your broader business objectives.Labor & Incentives Analytics: Hickey & Associates
For manufacturers, local workforce density, wage rates, and commuting patterns dictate long-term success far more than real estate costs. Independent of brokerage firms, Hickey ensures your labor analysis and economic incentive strategies are conflict-free.Civil Engineering (Site & Land Feasibility): Alliant Engineering
Crucial during the early site selection process for ground-up developments, Alliant evaluates preliminary land feasibility, utility access, and zoning restrictions before you commit to a site.
Stage 03: Test Feasibility
Once a potential facility or parcel of land is identified, the team expands to pressure-test the financial and physical viability of the project. Can the building be retrofitted for your specific manufacturing flow? Will local lenders finance the scale of the acquisition?
Industrial Architects & Space Planners:
PlanForce: A local architecture firm renowned for designing industrial spaces that deliberately optimize production layouts, minimize waste, and lower operational costs.
Pope Design Group: A premier Twin Cities-based firm with decades of experience designing massive new corporate industrial developments and manufacturing facilities.
General Contractors & Design-Build Partners:
Anderson CC (Brian Elliott): Brian brings a wealth of experience managing industrial build-outs across the Twin Cities, ranging from tenant interior improvements to expansive structural redevelopments.
Sever Construction (Matt Sever): Well-versed in industrial dynamics, Matt and his team excel at interior retrofits, warehouse upgrades, and specialized manufacturing build-outs.
ARCO Murray: A nationwide design-build powerhouse with a highly capable local Minneapolis team, streamlined to handle everything from initial visualization to final construction under a single contract.
Bauer Design Build: A local, founder-led firm that prides itself on deep client partnership, walking alongside operators from early project budget modeling to final close-out.
Commercial Lenders & Banking:
Brian Whitemarsh II (CorTrust Bank): Brian specializes in working directly with manufacturers on owner-occupied real estate lending, building acquisitions, and expansion financing.
Andrew Krough (Sunrise Banks): Andrew and the Sunrise team are an excellent asset for Twin Cities real estate acquisitions, providing robust financing structures for both owner-users and investors.
Andy Schornack (Security Bank and Trust): As President, Andy leads a commercial lending team with deep experience inside the metro, as well as the rapidly growing industrial corridors north and west of the Twin Cities.
Stage 04: Due Diligence
The due diligence period is where you uncover physical, environmental, and legal liabilities before finalizing the acquisition. Lenders require strict oversight during this window to ensure the buyer is protected.
Environmental & Property Condition Assessments: GZA (Sean Leary)
Sean is a best-in-class provider of environmental and geotechnical consulting. His Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments are highly trusted by commercial lenders, ensuring buyers are insulated from legacy site liabilities.Geotechnical & Site Assessments: Braun Intertec (Lucas Evenson)
A powerhouse local team providing comprehensive geotechnical engineering, environmental testing, and site assessments to map out underlying soil or structural challenges.Advanced Land Surveying: Terrain Professional Services (Kelly Ness)
Utilizing advanced technology to deliver precise ALTA surveys, boundary line verification, and easement identification, complete with layered visual mapping to keep the acquisition moving forward.
Stage 05: Execute Deal
Finalizing the transaction requires balancing strict legal protection with your core business objectives. The right partners keep the paperwork moving smoothly toward closing without getting stalled in red tape.
Real Estate Attorneys:
Blake R. Nelson (Hellmuth & Johnson): Blake counsels businesses through purchases, sales, and complex developments. He is an excellent asset for drafting purchase agreements, structuring joint ventures, and managing legal closing processes.
David Krco (Best & Flanagan): David anchors a full-spectrum real estate practice at Best & Flanagan, focusing his personal expertise on construction law, land use, zoning issues, and real estate litigation.
Commercial Title Insurance: First American Title
Title insurance is often treated as a last-minute checklist item, but responsive, proactive problem-solving keeps closings on schedule. First American’s local commercial division excels at preventing costly administrative delays.
Stage 06: Build & Occupy
With the deal closed, focus shifts to completing construction, managing risk, and safely transitioning operations into your new facility.
Commercial Property & Casualty Insurance: Eric Simmons (Christensen Group)
Securing tailored commercial property and liability insurance is mandatory prior to occupancy. Eric leads an employee-owned firm well-regarded in the Twin Cities for crafting competitively priced risk management packages for industrial operators.
Project Team Blueprints: Two Common Scenarios
To help visualize how these professionals collaborate across the 6-stage journey, here are two common industrial real estate paths we manage:
Scenario 1: Acquiring an Existing 50,000–100,000 SF Industrial Building
When purchasing an existing structure to retrofit for your operations, your initial team focuses heavily on evaluating physical space, executing due diligence, and securing capital.
| Stage | Partner | Primary Project Role |
|---|---|---|
| 01 & 02 | Modern CRE (Broker) | Leads building search, financial review, and coordinates team alignment. |
| 03 | PlanForce / Anderson / Sever (Architect/GC) | Evaluates structural layouts, modifications, and retrofitting costs. |
| 03 | CorTrust / Sunrise / Security (Lender) | Establishes commercial borrowing capacity and models debt structures. |
| 04 | GZA / Braun Intertec (Environmental) | Performs Phase I/II Environmental and Property Condition Assessments. |
| 05 & 06 | Hellmuth & Johnson / Christensen (Legal/Ins.) | Drafts closing documents and binds commercial property coverage. |
The Takeaway: This configuration allows you to define your spatial parameters, identify viable market inventory, accurately contrast renovation costs against acquisition prices, and lock in financing options before committing capital.
Scenario 2: Developing a 100,000–200,000 SF Build-to-Suit Facility
A ground-up development carries higher complexity, longer timelines, and greater capital requirements. Your team must expand early to account for land planning, municipal approvals, and economic incentives.
| Stage | Partner | Primary Project Role |
|---|---|---|
| 01 & 02 | Modern CRE (Broker) | Identifies raw land options and negotiates site acquisition. |
| 01 & 02 | Alliant Engineering (Civil) | Evaluates soil feasibility, site grading, and utility infrastructure. |
| 01 & 02 | Hickey & Associates (Labor/Incentives) | Validates local workforce density and secures municipal/state funding incentives. |
| 03 | ARCO Murray / Bauer (Design-Build) | Seamlessly manages the project from architectural concepts through construction. |
| 04 & 05 | Terrain PS / Best & Flanagan (Survey/Legal) | Identifies easements, secures zoning variances, and closes the land purchase. |
The Takeaway: Ground-up builds require heavy upfront coordination. Bringing in civil engineers, design-build firms, and incentives experts during the "Find Options" and "Test Feasibility" windows ensures the site can physically and financially support your intended manufacturing operations long before construction begins.
Need Help Assembling Your Industrial Real Estate Team?
Building the right professional network removes the guesswork from commercial transactions. At Modern CRE, we help manufacturers and industrial users throughout the Twin Cities evaluate facility alternatives, coordinate specialized project teams, and make highly informed real estate decisions.
Contact Modern CRE today to discuss your upcoming industrial space needs.
Disclaimer: The firms and individuals listed above are recommendations based on positive professional experiences. Clients are always encouraged to interview multiple service providers to select the professional teams that best fit their specific project scope and corporate culture.
