Minneapolis firm buys Fishers business park

The North by Northeast Business Park in Fishers has been sold to an affiliate of Minneapolis-based Meritex Enterprises Inc., commercial real estate brokerage Cassidy Turley announced Monday.

Cassidy Turley said it negotiated the sale of the 306,408-square-foot business park to Meritex NXNE LLC on behalf of Wells Fargo Bank. Cassidy Turley Principal Jeff Castell declined to divulge the purchase price.

North by Northeast was developed in 1989 and was last owned by Sacramento, Calif.-based Kobra Properties. It filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in December 2008.

A Johnson County judge granted a request by Wells Fargo and ordered that North by Northeast be sold at a sheriff sale in April 2010.

Meritex’s interest in the property began about two years ago after learning of Kobra’s financial challenges, said Dan Williams, chief investment officer of Meritex.

“We waited out a foreclosure process followed by the non-performance of several other buyer groups,” he said in a written statement.

North by Northeast, which includes three buildings ranging in size from 98,000 square feet to 107,000 square feet, is located east of Interstate 69 between 96th and 106th streets.

The business park has seven tenants and is 79-percent occupied. Tenants include McNamara Florists, Cooper Industries and Patio Enclosures Inc.

Meritex has hired Brian Seitz and Brian Buschuk from the Indianapolis office of Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle as leasing agents.

Buschuk said Meritex will invest in the property by repaving parking lots, installing new landscaping, and making roof and general maintenance repairs.

Meritex now owns 801,000 square feet of multi-tenant commercial properties in the Indianapolis area, including 218,880 square feet at Airport Park on the city’s west side; an 83,353-square-foot building at Park Fletcher, also on the west side; and the seven-building Noblesville Business Center under development at 148th Street and Howe Road.

The company also owns a building on North by Northeast Boulevard just north of the business park it just purchased.

Meritex’s presence in the Indianapolis area should serve the North by Northeast Business Park well, said Jeff Castell, a principal at Cassidy Turley.

“Quite frankly, the only reason the property was not performing better is that the owner was in bankruptcy,” he said. “They were just in an uncompetitive position.”