One of Roseville’s quieter office parks might be headed for a serious career change.
The developer Hempel is planning to convert the former Roseville Corporate Center into a two-story medical laboratory and pathology facility that could bring roughly 550 jobs to the city. The vision would turn an aging suburban office campus near Snelling Avenue into a centralized diagnostic hub, shifting an underused office footprint toward life-science work. Hempel has not publicly identified the tenant or released a construction timeline, leaving some of the biggest questions still hanging.
As reported by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, the two-story building is slated for centralized laboratory and pathology operations and “could bring” about 550 jobs to the former corporate center site. The outlet also noted that Hempel declined to name the proposed tenant when asked.
The parcel sits in the Rosedale corridor just east of Snelling Avenue and is labeled as the Roseville Corporate Center on city mapping. According to the City of Roseville, the complex consists of a cluster of office buildings and surface parking that have already been eyed for redevelopment.
That potential hiring surge would carry some weight locally. Clinical laboratory roles are specialized, and the state has for years flagged workforce and training challenges in this field. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has documented those clinical-laboratory workforce issues and the role of regional training programs in supplying technicians and technologists.
What the project could mean for Roseville
If the plan moves forward, jobs would likely include lab technologists, specimen-processing technicians and operations staff - roles that often pay more than typical suburban office support positions. Hempel has been active in repositioning and industrial development around the region, and the firm recently launched a roughly $300-million industrial joint venture, according to Midwest Builders Exchange. That experience could come in handy for the complex mechanical and safety requirements that come with lab space.
Office-to-lab conversions: a cautionary note
Turning offices into lab and life-science facilities has become a popular play, but it is not exactly a cheap or risk-free one. CBRE has warned that construction costs and an unleased pipeline of lab space have cooled speculative building and made signed tenants a near prerequisite for many projects. For Roseville, that points to a public announcement of a committed tenant and a clear financing plan as crucial steps to getting shovels in the ground.
What's next
Hempel is keeping the tenant and timeline under wraps for now, so the first visible signals are likely to be planning submissions, permit applications and any lease news. As the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal noted, developers often withhold tenant names in early stages while they line up permits and fit-out details. City staff and local colleges will likely watch for chances to connect existing training pipelines to any job openings if the project advances.
