MINNEAPOLIS—Duke Realty Corp. has just executed a long-term lease agreement with Intereum, Inc. for a 134,384 square foot office/warehouse facility on 13.78 acres that Duke owns at Waterford Ponds in suburban Plymouth. Intereum is based in Plymouth and supplies commercial office and healthcare furniture, floor coverings and related products to corporations and government agencies.

The Indianapolis-based Duke will begin construction on the building in May 2016, with Intereum relocating to its new facility in March 2017.

"In summer 2014, we began marketing our Waterford Ponds site for industrial use, rather than office," says Josh Budish, vice president of leasing and development for Duke in Minneapolis-St. Paul. "We believed it would be an excellent opportunity for industrial users looking for an in-fill location with excellent access and waterfront views."

"Our company chose this location because both State Highway 55 and US Highway 169 are literally right out the front door, enabling us to better serve our customers," says Matt Sveen, principal with Intereum. "Plus a build-to-suit facility allows us to incorporate the features that are important to our operations."

Intereum's new facility, which will be accessible from 8th Ave. North and fronts Waterford Pond, will include a 30,000 square foot office and showroom. The building will have nine dock doors with expansion capacity for nine more, one drive-in door, and 50' x 41' bay widths.

Intereum's new facility is Duke Realty's fifth build-to-suit industrial project in the Twin Cities market in the last 18 months. Other developers have also been quite active in the region. Amazon unveiled plans this year for a 820,000 square foot distribution center in Shakopee. And as reported in GlobeSt.com, the Opus Group recently landed a build-to-suit contract with AmerisourceBergen to develop and construct a new distribution center within Valley Park Business Center, also in Shakopee. Opus acquired the land in 2013 and has already built a 200,000 square-foot spec building on the site.

Jon Yanta and Brent Erickson with Northmarq Real Estate Services represented Intereum in the transaction, while Duke Realty was represented by listing agent Matt Oelschlager with CBRE and Mr. Budish.