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Eden Prairie, MN-based logistics and shipping giant C.H. Robinson has put forward tentative plans to build on 11.7 vacant acres next to its existing corporate campus.
According to materials on file with the city, the proposal calls for a three-phase project at a company-owned parcel extending south and east of the intersection of Charlson Road and Liatris Lane. During the first phase, the company would build a 170-stall parking lot, followed by the construction of a two-story building and more parking during phase two. The third phase would add two more stories to the building.
A spokesperson from C.H. Robinson declined to comment on the matter.
The plan was submitted by St. Paul-based Pope Architects, a longtime collaborator with the company. Pope designed C.H. Robinson’s Eden Bluff Tech Center, an 81,000-square-foot building completed in 2014, as well as its headquarters building at 14701 Charlson Rd. (pictured, above) and an operations center in Chicago.
Pope did not respond to a request for comment.
Eden Prairie City Planner Julie Klima said the application is not yet complete, and thus has not been scheduled for review by the Planning Commission.
C.H. Robsinson’s corporate campus is at 14701 Charlson, immediately south and west of Flying Cloud Airport, and currently includes four buildings with about 357,000 square feet between them. It also has a branch office in the TractorWorks building in Minneapolis’ North Loop district.
Founded in 1905, C.H. Robinson is one of the largest third-party logistics companies, with overland trucking, sea and air operations all over the world. During 2017, the company clocked $14.9 billion in total revenues, and handled 19 million shipments, according to its annual report.
The company is a major user and holder of commercial real estate. It has more than 200 offices around the world, with a presence in 69 countries spread throughout Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania. Domestically, it operates offices in 39 of the 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.
C.H. Robinson also owns or leases warehouses totaling about 1.5 million square feet of space, spread across nearly 40 cities around the globe.
Its headcount has grown considerably over the past five years, during which time we C.H. Robinson has executed over $1 billion in mergers and acquisitions, the latest being the $47.3 million purchase of Montreal-based Milgram & Company Ltd. in August 2017, which bolstered its foothold in Canada. In 2013, the company had 11,676 employees. As of Dec. 31, 2017, its employee count was 15,074.
Accordingly, C.H. Robinson’s physical footprint has increased as well. Notably, the company was the first tenant to sign on to Lincoln Yards, a redevelopment project by Chicago-based Sterling Bay.
Last year, construction started on a four-story, 207,000-square-foot building on a riverfront lot at 1515 West Webster Ave. in Chicago. C.H. Robinson will ultimately move its main Chicago office from an existing building at 1840 N. Marcy St. to the structure, which was designed by SOM Architects and is characterized by a flowing, finned silhouette and white façade.
