St. Michael is making room for a serious chunk of industrial action. The City Council on Tuesday signed off on a site plan for a 251,600-square-foot build-to-suit industrial building in Naber Business Park, on a city-owned parcel at 12900 44th Court NE. The project covers roughly 13.46 acres and is set to be sold to Minneapolis-based developer Likewise Partners. City staff say the pad-ready site will feature loading docks, angled truck parking and space for roughly 249 cars.
City sign-off and the developer’s timeline
As reported by Finance & Commerce, Tuesday’s vote gives Likewise Partners the green light to move ahead, with build-to-suit partner Tim McShane saying, “The site plan is fully approved.” Likewise Partners founder Steve Buss told the paper the building could be delivered “as soon as next spring” and said the firm plans to market the lot to tenants who need to move in quickly. A CBRE brokerage team is handling leasing for the project, according to the report.
Where it sits and how trucks will move
The property is the larger of the two remaining lots in Naber Business Park and sits just off Highway 241 between Naber Avenue Northwest and 44th Court Northeast, according to the City of St. Michael. City documents show the parcel is fully pad-ready after months of municipal site work, and the planned building’s west side is slated for loading docks along a row of angled truck parking stalls. A Finance & Commerce-cited CBRE marketing brochure also notes the site sits roughly 2.5 miles from Interstate 94 and Highway 101 in neighboring Rogers, putting it within easy reach of Minneapolis, St. Paul and nearby industrial hubs.
Why St. Michael is on industrial developers’ radar
Regional market data suggests Twin Cities industrial users are still hungry for space, even though overall absorption cooled in early 2026. That kind of environment tends to reward ready-to-build land where users can move fast. According to CBRE's Q1 2026 Minneapolis industrial figures, net absorption slipped into negative territory for the quarter and vacancy edged up, while speculative deliveries slowed. Those dynamics can make pad-ready, build-to-suit sites more appealing for tenants that want quick occupancy. City leaders and Likewise Partners both point to St. Michael’s upfront pre-construction work as a way to shave time and cost off the eventual tenant’s schedule.
What comes next for the project
With the council’s approval in hand, Likewise Partners is expected to finalize its purchase agreement with the St. Michael Economic Development Authority and begin actively marketing the site to build-to-suit tenants. The developer highlights its industrial focus and regional track record on its website, and city officials are banking on their early site work to shorten the path from signed agreement to shovels in the ground.
