Firm plans to move headquarters from Maple Grove to Brooklyn Park

Brooklyn Park is expected to lure another company to its fast-developing Hwy. 610 corridor.

Würth Adams Nut and Bolt Co. plans to move its headquarters from Maple Grove and consolidate several manufacturing and distribution operations in a $30 million 160,000-square-foot building at the southeast corner of Hwys. 610 and 169, according to documents prepared for city review.

Site developer United Properties asked this week for $400,000 in tax increment financing assistance to relocate a gasoline product pipeline on the Würth site. The request was unanimously approved by Brooklyn Park's Economic Development Authority board, Mayor Jeff Lunde said. United hopes to begin construction this summer

The City Council on Monday will consider passing a resolution to support an application by Würth for state Job Creation Fund grants, officials said. A council memo says Würth plans to create about 20 jobs paying at least $14 an hour and averaging $21 an hour, plus benefits. The 35-year-old company also expects to transfer about 88 workers to the new headquarters/warehouse building.

Würth awaits approval of the state grant before making a final commitment to the project, said Amy Baldwin, business development manager for the city.

Steve Baer, Würth's operations director, said he couldn't comment at this time.

The Job Creation Fund, administered by the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development, offers grants of up to $500,000 for job creation and an equal amount for capital investment rebates that help retain or create high-paying jobs.

United Properties, of Bloomington, hopes to gain needed city approvals to begin construction this summer on the headquarters and a separate, 176,000-square-foot speculative building designed for manufacturing or medical/technology users. United has an option to buy 36 acres on the site, and its future plans may include a hotel along Hwy. 610.

United's plan for a speculative building is "a sign of confidence," Lunde said. "There's a lot of interest on 610."

The mayor said that with Target completing two office towers northeast of Hwys. 610 and 169, and the recent Hwy. 610 arrivals of Baxter International, Olympus and others, United's future hotel may well be needed for corporate travelers.

The city estimates that the Würth headquarters and first spec building would be worth about $25 million and produce about $1.1 million a year in property taxes, compared with $35,000 in taxes on the vacant land in 2014.

Würth would be the second firm to leave Maple Grove for Brooklyn Park. Olympus Surgical Technologies America is building a $35.8 million manufacturing plant on Hwy. 610. Olympus plans to consolidate five Maple Grove facilities in the new 181,000-square-foot plant.

Maple Grove also offered incentives to Olympus, Madsen said. He noted that Brooklyn Park has vacant land with good freeway access. Hwy. 610 "is a big plus for them," he added.

He said he expects that Maple Grove will attract more businesses when Hwy. 610 is connected to Interstate 94 in the next few years.

Würth's website says that Winston L. Adams started Adams Nut and Bolt in 1979 and that it remains focused on selling fasteners to original equipment manufacturers. The firm moved into its current 62,000-square-foot headquarters in Maple Grove in 1995. Acquired by the Würth Group in 1997, the company has 14 locations in the United States and Mexico.