PRESS 2008

2008 - 2007 - 2006

Meritex Leases Westbelt Spec Building Ahead of Schedule

April 17, 2008 – Columbus, Ohio – Meritex Enterprises announced today that it signed the final lease for its 52,800 SF speculative development, Exchange Center II, in Westbelt Business Park, achieving 100% occupancy within 14 months of building completion.  Exchange Center II is now serving the needs of five local and national businesses.

Jill Evans, Columbus Portfolio Manager for Meritex stated, “It’s about delivering the right product in the right market at the right price.” Meritex owns 1.7 million SF serving 57 tenants in the greater Columbus area, including Gahanna, Groveport, and Rickenbacker. The leasing success Meritex has achieved in Columbus illustrates its understanding of the unique needs of the smaller user.

RjBoll Realty, LTD. exclusively represented Meritex in leasing Exchange Center II. Ray Boll commented, “I’m proud to be a part of the success of the first spec building developed in Westbelt since 1980.  Exchange Center II leased even faster than we projected,” to which Jeff Boll added, “If you believe in the building you represent, you can lease it faster to quality tenants. We believe in this product and in the continuing strength of the Westbelt sub-market.”

Meritex Leases Rogers, Minnesota Building to 100%

March 25, 2008 - Roseville, Minnesota, – Meritex Enterprises announced today that it has leased 71,148 square feet to Profile Companies, Inc. at the Weber Building located at 13251 George Weber Drive in Rogers, Minnesota, bringing the property to 100% occupancy.

Profile Companies, started in 1989 by Steven DeJong, specializes in powder coating services for metal, wood and MDF products used in retail displays, office furniture, consumer products and more.  Unlike conventional liquid paint, powder coating does not require toxic solvent to keep the pigment in a liquid suspension form. This eliminates the need for using, storing, and disposing of dangerous, environmentally harmful chemicals.  Steven DeJong commented, “The Meritex Weber Building and management are well suited for our growing business. Meritex and Profile Companies make a good match.”

Steve Dorff, Property Manager, stated, “Profile’s space in the Weber Building more than doubles their former operation, and Meritex is excited to assist in Profile’s growth in the Rogers market.” Meritex currently owns two properties totaling 386,000 square feet in the Rogers, Minnesota market, as well as an additional 1.1 million square feet in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Meritex is actively seeking to expand its Class A/Class B office/warehouse portfolio in the market.  John Ryden and Tom Lelich of the Minneapolis CBRE office assisted in the transaction.

Meritex Leases 192,000 square feet in Indianapolis

March 12, 2008 – Meritex Enterprises announced today that it has signed leases totaling 192,000 square feet at 9910 North by Northeast in Indianapolis.

Meritex signed a new lease for 96,000 square feet with a tenant new to the Indianapolis market. This tenant will take occupancy April 1, 2008. 

Meritex also renewed 96,000 square feet with KHF Holdings. KHF Holdings is an independent owner and operator of Ashley Furniture Home stores in the Indianapolis and surrounding market area. Shortly after moving into the building three years ago, KHF doubled its size as it continued to grow and add Ashley Furniture Home Stores in the greater Indianapolis area. KHF now services three stores in Indianapolis. Steve Wood, Regional Manager for KHF, stated, “9910 is the perfect location for the distribution of Ashley furniture and also works extremely well for customer self pickup.”

Richard Eichhorn, Vice President/Investments, stated, “KHF represents the type of company that Meritex is proud to serve and have as part of its tenant base in Indianapolis.  Meritex currently has 500,000 square feet of owned properties in the greater Indianapolis area and is looking to acquire or develop another 500,000 to 1,000,0000 square feet of warehouse space in Indianapolis. We are excited that there has been strong demand for our product-type in the market and appreciate the opportunity to service our tenants’ needs.”

MERITEX SELLS SAINT PAUL OFFICE BUILDING

January 8, 2008 - Meritex Enterprises, Inc. announces the sale of 444 Lafayette Road, in St Paul, MN for $36.0 million to 444 Lafayette, LLC. The facility is a 250,695 square foot office building and was originally built in 1919 as a multi-story warehouse facility. The structure was converted to an office building in the 1970’s. Meritex recently completed a major remodeling of the office building as part of a ten-year lease renewal with the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Meritex will provide property management services for the new owner going forward. The property sale was marketed for Meritex by the Twin Cities office of CB Richard Ellis.

This transaction is one of four major dispositions that Meritex completed in 2007 which represent some of the final steps of a strategy launched in 2003 by Meritex to reposition its real estate portfolio. Since then, Meritex has disposed of over 4.2 million square feet of office and bulk warehouse real estate and has reinvested into over 4.6 million square feet of institutional grade, multi-tenant industrial properties in the markets of Columbus, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Houston and Minneapolis.

“By executing our strategy, we have created a national platform of institutional grade industrial real estate that generates highly predictable cash flows and offers strong liquidity. We are now well positioned to successfully operate in a wide variety of market conditions,” commented Daniel Williams, Chief Investment Officer.

MERITEX SELLS MEMPHIS DISTRIBUTION CENTER

January 8, 2008 - Meritex Enterprises, Inc. announces the sale of 4836 Hickory Hill Road, in Memphis, TN for $16.1 million to Crown Memphis, LLC. The facility is a 646,000 square foot bulk distribution warehouse and was built in 1985. Meritex’s logistics subsidiary, Meritex Logistics – Memphis, will lease the facility from Crown Memphis Associates, LLC for a term of five years. The property sale was marketed for Meritex by the Memphis office of CB Richard Ellis.

This transaction is one of four major dispositions that Meritex completed in 2007 which represent some of the final steps of a strategy launched in 2003 by Meritex to reposition its real estate portfolio. Since then, Meritex has disposed of over 4.2 million square feet of office and bulk warehouse real estate and has reinvested into over 4.6 million square feet of institutional grade, multi-tenant industrial properties in the markets of Columbus, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Houston and Minneapolis.

“By executing our strategy, we have created a national platform of institutional grade industrial real estate that generates highly predictable cash flows and offers strong liquidity. We are now well positioned to successfully operate in a wide variety of market conditions,” commented Daniel Williams, Chief Investment Officer.

MERITEX SELLS COLUMBUS WAREHOUSE

January 8, 2008 - Meritex Enterprises, Inc. announces the sale of 1585 Westbelt Drive, in Columbus, OH for $4.85 million to Columbus VP Partners, Ltd. The facility is a 147,000 square foot bulk distribution warehouse building and was built in 1979. The property is 100% leased to Victory Packaging. Meritex had acquired the facility from RREEF in 2003 as part of a 1 million square foot industrial/flex portfolio.

This transaction is one of four major dispositions that Meritex completed in 2007 which represent some of the final steps of a strategy launched in 2003 by Meritex to reposition its real estate portfolio. Since then, Meritex has disposed of over 4.2 million square feet of office and bulk warehouse real estate and has reinvested into over 4.6 million square feet of institutional grade, multi-tenant industrial properties in the markets of Columbus, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Houston and Minneapolis.

“By executing our strategy, we have created a national platform of institutional grade industrial real estate that generates highly predictable cash flows and offers strong liquidity. We are now well positioned to successfully operate in a wide variety of market conditions,” commented Daniel Williams, Chief Investment Officer.