Ohio Farmers Insurance, a Westfield Insurance Company, engaged CRESCO Real Estate and Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) to source new office space for its Minnesota branch location. The firm’s current sublease term was coming to an end and they also required additional space.

Approach

• A space needs analysis was completed to determine the appropriate square footage for the Minnesota branch moving forward. The planning process determined the firm would require approximately 16,000 SF (nearly double the sublease premises).
• CRESCO / C&W then conducted an extensive market search based on the client’s locational parameters and conducted a property tour with the client.
• The site selection process yielded several properties that met the client’s requirements. A competitive cost analysis, however, identified the most suitable alternative.

Results

• CRESCO / C&W secured a 72 month lease for 18,200 square feet at Normandale Place on behalf of Ohio Farmers Insurance.
• CRESCO / C&W negotiated a turnkey buildout, $5.00 per SF moving allowance, building signage, and future renewal options.
• The transaction also included 14 months of gross free rent on the entire 18,200 SF. Because the Landlord did not want to divide the available suite to accommodate the client’s initial 16,000 SF space requirement, the Landlord offered the additional 2,000 SF at another 12 months of gross free rent as an inducement for the client to lease the entire suite.