A New Home for New France Wine Company

New France Wine Company (NFWC), a fine wine wholesaler and importer in Minnesota, was co-located with a partner wine distribution company, but the shared warehouse space was becoming too small for both companies. New France Wine was looking for approximately 15,000-18,000 square feet of warehouse space along with 1,200 square feet of administrative office space. Key requirements included being centrally located to simplify delivery management, space for “high pile” storage to at least 18 feet, and air tempered warehouse space to achieve a maximum temperature of 68 degrees in the summer. All to be located, negotiated, construction completed, and occupied within a tight 6-month timeframe.

Element reviewed both ‘For Sale’ and ‘For Lease’ listings that were within NFWC parameters, presenting 24 potential location options. These options were narrowed to the eight best and toured with NFWC. Based on the tours, NFWC requested proposals from landlords on four options. Every aspect of each landlord proposal was analyzed with Element’s proprietary Occupancy Cost Model. After several counter proposals, NFWC agreed to terms on leasing space from Hillcrest Development at 641 Fairview Ave in St. Paul Midway area.

In addition to helping NFWC locate suitable space fitting their requirements, Element also assisted with lease negotiations, space planning, vetting contractors and providing construction project management. The final space met all New France Wine Company’s requirements and closely met their required project schedule (in the end it took 7 months to get them up and running at the new location).