Owner's Rep
Sartel, MN
70,000 SF
2019 - 2020
Project Photos
About this property
The Toppan Merrill production campus at 300 11th Ave E in Sartell, MN is a 170,000 square foot printing, warehouse, and office facility, expanded through a $6 million project delivered with Inventure Real Estate serving as Owner’s Representative. Toppan Merrill needed to consolidate its St. Cloud operations, add capacity, and do it without losing time or leverage. Inventure stood on the owner’s side of the table from the first conversation with the City of Sartell through contractor bid acceptance and construction close out. The project is a clear illustration of what owner’s representation actually looks like when it is done right: protecting the client’s budget, protecting the client’s schedule, and protecting jobs that other states were ready to take.
A Project Worth Fighting For
Toppan Merrill has been a Central Minnesota employer since 1994 and has operated in Sartell since 2001. When the company began evaluating how to combine its St. Cloud functions into a single location, staying in Minnesota was not guaranteed. Inventure understood exactly what was at stake and made a commitment to both Toppan Merrill and the City of Sartell to keep that growth here. That meant getting in early with city leadership, aligning municipal interests with the company’s expansion economics, and making the case that retention was worth more to Sartell than the incentive it would cost.
A Deal Structured to Close
When bids came in materially above projections, the project was at real risk. Inventure went back to the City and negotiated a business subsidy against water and sewer access charges, approved unanimously by the Sartell City Council, that closed the gap and kept the expansion moving. Doug Boser led the effort personally, navigating the process from initial city discussions through evaluating and accepting contractor bid estimates. Ground broke in July 2019 with Governor Tim Walz in attendance, and the expansion opened the following spring.
- Owner's Representative: Inventure represented Toppan Merrill's interests from municipal negotiation through construction delivery.
- 70,000 Square Foot Expansion: 13,500 square feet of new office space and 56,375 square feet of warehouse and production space added to the existing 100,000 square foot facility.
- $6 Million Investment: Funded by parent company Toppan Leefung Pte. Ltd. and delivered on budget.
- Municipal Advocacy: Negotiated a city business subsidy that closed a bid gap and saved the project.
- Jobs Retained and Created: Consolidated St. Cloud operations into Sartell and added roughly 40 new positions.
A Track Record That Partners Can Bank On
The Toppan Merrill expansion is one of many examples of Inventure Real Estate representing owners with conviction: reading the deal correctly, negotiating hard where it counts, holding contractors accountable, and delivering the outcome the client actually needed. For corporations, healthcare systems, universities, and municipalities looking for a partner who sits on their side of the table and performs, Inventure brings the platform, the relationships, and the decisiveness that turn complicated projects into completed ones.
Key Property Features
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