Meridian Crossings in Richfield, new home for some U.S. Bancorp employees, has officially sold for $65.6 million, one of the largest office deals in the metro area this year.
Piedmont Office Realty Trust purchased the two-building office complex from an affiliate of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio called OTR, and closed on the deal Oct. 1, according to government documents filed Monday.
Meridian Crossings, at the intersection of Interstates 494 and 35W, is 90 percent leased to U.S. Bancorp. The Minneapolis-based bank made headlines when it announced earlier this year that it was moving about 1,600 workers to 340,000 square feet in the suburban building from its operations center on Shepard Road in St. Paul. The move is a setback for St. Paul's beleaguered office market, which has long suffered higher vacancies. Not that vacancy rate in the southwest metro -- 22 percent, according to NorthMarq -- is much better.
Brian Helmken of CB Richard Ellis, leasing agent for Meridian Crossings, said U.S. Bank started moving some of its workers into the new space last week. It's expected to finish the move by the end of February.
Piedmont Office Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust in Johns Creek, Ga., invests in Class A office properties around the country and owns about 80.
It also owns two other properties in the Twin Cities: U.S. Bancorp's headquarters at U.S. Bancorp Center at 800 Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, and Crescent Ridge II at 10900 Wayzata Blvd. in Minnetonka, where Siemens is a major tenant.
"We're just excited to have another property in Minneapolis," said Robert Bowers, chief financial officer of Piedmont Office Realty Trust.
Jennifer Bjorhus • 612-673-4683
