Family-owned investor buys Roseville office building.

Byline: William Morris

A Roseville office building with some big-name tenants has sold for $4 million in cash.

Minneapolis-based Thrivent and Sweden-based Securitas lease the largest spaces in the 31,412-square-foot Snelling Office Center at 2780 Snelling Ave. N. An entity connected to St. Paul-based Wheelhouse Capital, a holding company for a family, purchased the property from New Ulm-based Upper Midwest Management on Sept. 28, according to a certificate of real estate value made public Oct. 1.

The purchase price works out to $127 per square foot. Across the suburban St. Paul submarket, CoStar calculates the average office sale price in the past 12 months has worked out to $157 per square foot. The 2.13-acre property is valued at $3.025 million by Ramsey County for tax purposes.

The three-story building, built in 1983, has about 3,300 square feet available to lease, according to CoStar Group. The occupancy rate works out to 89.5 percent. Other tenants include American Family Insurance, the Minnesota Institute for Pain Management, and several accounting and law firms.

Wheelhouse, an entity tied to members of the Schweizer family, approached the Roseville property as an investment opportunity,said Wheelhouse business manager Mike Berkopec.

"The family has been looking for more office real estate holdings, and this one was out there," Berkopec said in an interview. "We see it as a long-term hold for the family."

Upper Midwest Management did not return calls seeking comment.

The office opens onto East Snelling Service Drive and is between the Coventry Apartments to the north and the Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union to the south...