Metro Mold buildings sold in $23.75 million leaseback deal.

Byline: Matt M. Johnson

Medical device manufacturer Metro Mold and Design has sold its two Twin Cities facilities in a sale-leaseback deal that has the company staying put for the next two decades.

Minnetonka-based Founders Properties paid $23.75 million for the buildings in Rogers and Brooklyn Park, said Founders Vice President Chris Courneya. Founders is acquiring 231,771 square feet of space spread between Metro Mold's Rogers headquarters at 6835 Winnetka Circle and a manufacturing plant the company built in 2012 in existing building at 20600 County Road 81 in Brooklyn Park.

The portfolio deal, which closed on Nov. 1, works out to about $102.47 per square foot of space. Certificates of real estate value for the transaction were not publicly available as of Tuesday afternoon.

The purchase is Founders' first in the Twin Cities since 2016, Courneya said in an interview. The Metro Mold buildings are the fourth purchase Founders has made with a relatively new investment fund dedicated to investing in industrial and office space, he said.

Metro Mold has signed a 20-year lease for the space. That commitment, plus the company's growth over the past few years, made the deal attractive for Founders.

"We like that their operations are skewed toward the med-tech world," Courneya said. "We really like that they are positioned well for growth."

Metro Mold spent $5.2 million to build out the Brooklyn Park property seven years ago. At the time, the company had grown its revenues to about $50 million per year and expected to build its Brooklyn Park workforce to 250 employees. Metro Mold makes injection...