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It may not be obvious on the outside of the building, but inside the old BevCo-O’Jay-JuiceTime building in Lindstrom there’s a renaissance happening. New owner Jeff Stedman is turning the old warehouse-bottling plant into the Lindstrom Commons Business Park.

Stedman is in the middle of a huge spring cleaning effort that will free-up thousands of square feet of space, located right on Highway 8, for what he refers to as an “incubator” for businesses.

“I’m real excited about this...I am willing to talk to anyone about anything,” he mentioned in a recent interview.

He already has one tenant leasing the rear of the building for a business making custom granite and marble counters and similar products.

Lindstrom Commons Business Park offers loading docks, cavernous spaces that may be carved up from 500 square feet to 20,000 sq. ft... there’s several smaller office spaces toward the highway side, and even walk-in cooler areas.

Stedman is wide open to a mix of different things as potential clients.

There is also an on-line auction happening at www.goindustry.com for anyone looking for warehouse equipment or bottling line components. The website will accept bids until April 14, and winning bidders will be removing items the last two weeks of April. One bid has come in from as far away as Ghana, Stedman mentioned.

Acting as Realty Development Advisors, LLC Stedman has experience developing commercial spaces in Eden Prairie, Zumbrota and Richfield.

He’s very focused and organized in describing his plans. He also said he has gotten nothing but support and cooperation from officials working for the city of Lindstrom and from Chris Eng, Chisago County Housing and Redevelopment Authority Director.

Stedman originally approached the building as a redevelopment site, which would mean tapping into the Lindstrom Tax Increment Financing program, razing the structure and starting over. But, after crunching the numbers Stedman decided lease rates would need to be too high to support the debt on such a project, at least for the next several years.

National franchise businesses that Stedman has spoken with, “...consider this market a good one and getting better but it’s not yet to where they can pay the rates needed to support a new (building).”

As temperatures warm, Stedman will also continue sprucing up on the exterior of the site.

He welcomes inquiries from any business that is expanding, relocating, starting new or needing storage, contact him at 1-952-473-0903. Email to [email protected]

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