California firm snags three downtown Mpls buildings in massive deal
A prominent property development firm has just sold three large office buildings in downtown Minneapolis for $87.5 million to a new player in the Twin Cities.
Led by businessman Ned Adbul, Swervo Development Corp. accepted an offer from San Francisco-based Spear Street Capital on the three buildings: 510 Marquette Avenue in the heart of downtown Minneapolis, 123 N. Third St. and 300 First Ave. N., the Star Tribune reports. The latter two are in the North Loop area.
The newspaper says the three properties together make up about 10 percent of Swervo's real estate portfolio.
According to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Swervo paid more than $6 million to acquire 510 Marquette in 2013.
The publication indicates the transaction was somewhat unexpected for Adbul and his company and marks a change of business strategy.
“Our approach has been – and remains – to acquire, repurpose and hold our properties for the long-term," said Abdul. "In this case, however, we were presented a very attractive unsolicited offer from one of the preeminent real estate investment firms in the country."
The deal marks Spear Street Capital's first foray into Minnesota.
Currently, the company owns properties in its home state of California, as well as Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Canada, according to its website.
