Johnson Bros. Liquors seeks relocation from St. Paul to former Blue Cross site in Eagan

Frederick Melo, Pioneer Press
·3 min read

Johnson Brothers Liquor Co., the third largest wine distributor in the nation, is in talks with the city of Eagan to potentially relocate its St. Paul headquarters to a future six-story, 460,000-square foot warehouse distribution facility where the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota campus currently sits on Blue Cross Road.

On Tuesday evening, the Eagan City Council will consider the company’s request to rezone a 55-acre swathe of the campus from office to industrial development, setting the stage for the liquor company’s arrival. Johnson Bros. also is eyeing some 230,000 square feet of potential future expansion space, including retaining a former Delta Dental office building to the south of the site largely as-is for its office headquarters.

“We are seeking non-binding but meaningful feedback from the city council on Sept. 12,” said Kevin Loegering, chief financial officer with Johnson Bros., in a recent letter to Eagan officials.

Blue Cross Blue Shield remains based in Eagan, but in the era of remote work has consolidated into a smaller office footprint across Yankee Doodle Road.

Outgrown St. Paul facilities

Johnson Bros., which was established in Minnesota in the 1950s and has offices and distribution warehouses in 18 states, is looking to expand beyond the boundaries of its sizable distribution center at 1999 Shepard Road, near Crosby Farm Park in St. Paul.

“As we shared with you during our prior meetings, (we’ve) outgrown our facilities in St. Paul,” reads Loegering’s letter, dated Aug. 29, to Eagan City Planner Mike Shultz. “Our business has been operating successfully in Minnesota for over 70 years, and we plan to continue to grow nationally and within Minnesota for a very long time.”

The company is working with Interstate Development, an Eden Prairie-based commercial real estate and investment company, on the details.

“If they move, their St. Paul company I’m sure would move, but they’d have to comment on that,” said Bill Katter, a partner with Interstate Development, in a brief phone interview on Monday. “Tomorrow is a concept plan with the city of Eagan. We’re hoping to hear the city would rezone this property. … They’re looking for a place to grow. They’ve maxed out their current place.”

Katter said he could not comment on how many jobs would relocate from St. Paul to Eagan. A call to Johnson Bros. Liquors was not immediately returned Monday.

“It’s just too early to say what happens,” Katter said. “It’s just exploratory right now.”

Documents shared with the city of Eagan by Johnson Bros. indicate that existing soccer fields currently leased to the city of Eagan would be relocated to the far southern end of the campus by Sky Hill Park, creating a more contiguous green closer to residential areas. A former daycare and office building would be converted into a corporate training center.

Blue Cross Blue Shield headquarters

News of the company’s potential relocation was first carried on Monday by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, which reported that Blue Cross, the state’s largest nonprofit health insurer, had put its Eagan headquarters up for sub-lease in May.

Jim McManus, a spokesman for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, explained in an email on Monday that the nonprofit sold its headquarters buildings to W.P. Carey & Co. in a sale/leaseback arrangement in 2012, including its main building at 3535 Blue Cross Road. “We have been in a long-term lease ever since,” he said.

In November 2021, Blue Cross moved to a hybrid/remote work model, gradually consolidating its office space into two connected buildings called River Park I and River Park II, also owned by W.P. Carey, situated directly across Minnesota Highway 13 from the main building.

“Last December, we informed all employees about the plan to exit the main location,” McManus said. “In the spring of 2023, that information was made public. The building is now vacant.”

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