Laurus Corp. Enters Minneapolis Area with Acquisition of Woodlake Centre

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Laurus Corp., a private real estate investment and development firm, recently announced the acquisition of Woodlake Centre, marking the firm’s first acquisition in the Minneapolis area.

Located at 6625 Lyndale Ave. South, near freeway interchanges I-494, I-35 and the Twin Cities Crosstown Highway, the 190,000-square-foot complex is a high-profile destination for medical and professional services in one of the metro area’s key inner-ring suburbs: Richfield. More than 1,000 new residential units are within walking distance of Woodlake Center; the Southdale Centre and Galleria Edina malls are also less than two miles from the property, and the 4.2 million-square-foot Mall of America and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are just 10 minutes away.

The building features numerous amenities, including conference facilities, heated and structured parking, a full-service restaurant and bar, a bank branch and a skylit atrium.

Observed Jean Paul Szita, co-founder & CFO of Laurus Corp.: “Laurus will implement a multimillion-dollar upgrade plan to add new amenities to the building, including a cafe, concierge services and enhanced parking. Our first acquisition in the Minneapolis market is a prime example of Laurus’ ability to identify opportunistic assets in regional markets that display robust demand drivers and tremendous upside potential for our investors and also create value for our tenants’ customers.”

Ethika Investments, a real estate investment firm affiliated with Laurus Corp., a few days later announced the allocation of capital for the acquisition of Woodlake Centre, the property becoming the ninth investment from Ethika’s Diversified Opportunity Real Estate Fund.

“At just 4.3 percent, the Minneapolis market boasts the lowest unemployment rate in the U.S. among metropolitan areas, with more than one million in population,” said Andres Szita, co-founder & chairman of Ethika Investments. “We are very confident in our investment in this market and for the tremendous upside potential it creates on behalf of our investors.”

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