Forte Real Estate Partners’ team helps medical device firm consolidate and expand RE footprint
Minneapolis (Jan. 8, 2024) – Innovia Medical, operating as Summit Medical in Minnesota, has signed a nine-year lease for 73,000 sq. ft. in Viking Lakes, Eagan, Minnesota, to serve as its new corporate headquarters.
In 2011, the firm started with 11,000 sq. ft. in the building, which grew to 41,000 sq. ft. in 2022. The recent expansion involves the renewal of the existing lease, incorporating an additional 32,000 sq. ft. to make Innovia Medical the sole tenant of the property. This expansion strategically consolidates another Eagan facility, providing space for offices, distribution, clean room manufacturing, and the assembly of finished products. The company anticipates completing its relocation to the remodeled space, leaving approximately 15% of the area available for future products or acquisitions, by late January.
John Young, vice president-Advisory, Forte Real Estate Partners, and Wally Tufvander, vice president – project management, were the company’s real estate and construction advisors. Their roles encompassed lease negotiations, construction bidding, and project management. Young handled lease negotiations with MVE Ventures, the owner of Viking Lakes, and assessed various real estate options, while Tufvander collaborated with and managed contractors for renovations, furniture installation, AV/IT setup, and move management for the two MN locations.
“We’re excited to have our employees and operations under one roof, where we can collaborate and innovate more easily,” said Summit Medical’s Kevin McIntosh. “Having an adequate real estate footprint to keep up with our growth is an important part of our success. The Forte team played a pivotal role with their advice, counsel, and project management for each new lease, making the transitions and decisions much smoother.”
Summit Medical, a developer and manufacturer of a diverse medical product portfolio, has experienced substantial growth from 16 employees in 11,000 sq. ft. of space in 2011 to over 100 employees today. This marks the company’s fourth expansion in the last decade.
“While this was a complicated path, the final decision to move into one combined location is something we’ve been working on for quite a while. I’m glad we could play a role in Summit’s ongoing success,” Young said.
MV Ventures, the commercial real estate business of the Minnesota Vikings owned by the Wilf family, is developing Viking Lakes. A 200-acre multi-purpose business campus in Eagan, the park is home to Prime Therapeutics, Thomsen Reuters, the Vikings training facility, the Omni Hotel, and Twin Cities Orthopedics. It is comprised of best-in-class office, residential, medical, retail, hotel, and entertainment businesses. MV Ventures acquired the real estate from CMS Properties in 2016.
Summit Medical, which has acquired and integrated seven independent medical device companies over the last 10 years, was rebranded as Innovia Medical with other medical device companies owned by Shore Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused exclusively on microcap health care investments before being acquired by Inverness Graham Investments in March of 2023.
