$33 million Fleet Farm sale could be a record.

Byline: Matt M. Johnson

A $33 million price tag a Twin Cities investor paid for a Lakeville Mills Fleet Farm store could be the most expensive single-tenant retail sale ever in the metro area.

James W. Tindall Jr. closed on the 202,669-square-foot store at 17070 Kenrick Ave. on Nov. 5. Tindall, who owns, Minneapolis-based Pro One Management in Minneapolis and rental homes, apartments and other properties around the Twin Cities, bought the Fleet Farm as a sale-leaseback that has the retailer committed to a lease that runs through 2041, according to Steven Katkov, a member of Philadelphia-based commercial real estate brokerage Cozen O'Connor.

A certificate of real estate value for the transaction was not available as of Wednesday afternoon. O'Connor, who represented Tindall in the transaction, confirmed the selling price.

The seller was New York-based Davidson Kempner Capital Management. The company acquired the store as part of a $490 million, 26-store portfolio it purchased from Fleet Farm majority owner KKR in 2016. Davidson Kempner has been selling the stores and dealt Fleet Farm locations in Rochester and Owatonna away for a combined $38 million to carpet wholesaler Steve Cheney in deals in April and October.

The Minneapolis office of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. The Fleet Farm was initially listed for sale for $35.18 million. The negotiation of the sale was lengthy, Katkov said in a Wednesday interview, but produced a good result for Tindall.

"It was a very fair price," he said. "He stepped into a long-term stream of income."

Tindall did not immediately respond on Wednesday to a request to comment on the purchase.

The deal works out to about $162.83 per square foot...