Development
St. Cloud, MN
1,927 SF
2015 - 2018
About this property
The Historic W-100 Block sits at 100 5th Avenue South in the heart of downtown St. Cloud, a run of historic storefronts carrying mixed retail and commercial space. Inventure Properties owns the block and restored it as part of the firm’s downtown St. Cloud historic restoration program. The second floor of the former Benson Brothers Grocery Store, 1,927 square feet that had been vacant and effectively abandoned, was recovered through the Fifth Ave Live project and rebuilt across two phases with BCI Construction as design builder and Cole Group Architects as architect. Total invested cost came to $104,321 across both phases at a project valuation of $54.14 per square foot. The space now serves as Inventure’s corporate headquarters.
How Inventure Identifies Value in Historic Downtown Property
Vacant upper floors above downtown retail are one of the most consistently mispriced categories in secondary markets. Carrying costs are real, access is often poor, and the conversion math scares off most buyers before they ever walk the space. Inventure walked it. What was up there was interior yellow brick, exposed wood framing, and original wood floors across the entire footprint, the kind of material quality that cannot be built new at any reasonable cost today. The asset did not need reinvention. It needed recovery.
How the Restoration Was Phased and Executed
Inventure structured the work in two phases over a three year window rather than forcing a single large outlay, keeping capital exposure controlled while the downtown submarket strengthened. Phase 1 came in at $61,197 and Phase 2 at $43,124. The scope stayed deliberately restrained: clean and preserve the original brick, framing, and flooring, add a bathroom, install a coffee unit, and let the building’s existing character carry the space. Design build delivery kept the architect and contractor accountable to one budget and one schedule, which matters on historic work where discovery conditions can move numbers fast.
- Owner and Developer - Inventure Properties owns the block and self performed the development.
- Historic Restoration - Original yellow brick, exposed wood framing, and wood floors preserved throughout.
- Two Phase Delivery - $61,197 in Phase 1 and $43,124 in Phase 2, completed in 2018.
- $54.14 Per Square Foot Valuation - Recovered 1,927 square feet of previously unusable second floor space.
- Corporate Headquarters - Now houses Inventure Properties and doubles as private event space.
Why Owners and Partners Work With Inventure on Historic Assets
The W-100 Block is one of many examples of Inventure Real Estate finding return in buildings the market has already discounted: reading the asset correctly, phasing capital to protect downside, selecting a design build team that performs, and preserving the character that makes a property irreplaceable. For corporations, healthcare systems, universities, and municipalities looking for a partner who takes ownership risk alongside them, Inventure brings the platform, the relationships, and the decisiveness that turn complicated projects into completed ones.
Key Property Features
Commercial Real Estate Services backed by 35+ Years of Experience
(320) 980-2300
info@inventureproperties.com
