Minn. State Farm Office Slates Move

About 350 employees at State Farm Insurance Co. will move early next year from Woodbury to Mendota Heights, Minn..

Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm signed a lease last week for 83,000 square feet of office space in the American Corporate Center.

By signing the lease, the insurance company concludes a two-year reorganization during which several hundred jobs moved from Woodbury to Lincoln, Neb.

At one time State Farm had more than 1,000 employees at its 459,000-square-foot office building in Woodbury.

Real estate professionals are closely watching what happens to that campus because it will affect the market, whether the next owner finds tenants to fill it up or tears it down for another use.

The 108-acre campus has not been sold, said State Farm spokeswoman Lori Kush. Philadelphia-based Binswanger is marketing the property for sale.

Workers who remain in the Twin Cities process claims and do other administrative duties, Kush said.

Bloomington-based United Properties developed the two-building American Corporate Center in 1987 and 1992 and continues to be an owner. Until the end of 2004, the buildings were leased by Northland Insurance, a subsidiary of St. Paul-based The St. Paul Travelers Cos. Inc.

Northland left the space last year, moving about 500 employees to downtown St. Paul.

State Farm, with the help of the Minneapolis office of CRESA Partners, looked at many east-metro locations, including downtown St. Paul.

Dan Gleason, the broker at United Properties who listed the three-story office buildings for lease, said the central location was a big factor in State Farm’s decision.

About 60,000 square feet remain available in the American Corporate Center, he said.