Guardian Resources moves to 8,000 sq. ft. at Crescent Ridge II

Guardian Resources, a retirement planning and financial advisory firm, moved this week to 8,000 sq. ft. in Crescent Ridge II, a Golden Valley Class-A office property owned by Piedmont Realty. The company spent the last 20 years at Park Place West and was one of the building’s first tenants.

“We didn’t take the decision to move lightly, but we prioritized the client experience and employee engagement as our drivers,” said Clifton Ross, president and CEO, Guardian Resources. “Because we are so focused on serving our clients in person, we wanted a space that offered a welcoming, hospitality-type environment.”

The new space is similar in size to the lease in Park Place West, but that space was split into two adjacent suites. The new space offers two reception desks, a coffee bar, a large employee break room, four client conference rooms, and collaboration spaces for employees. Crescent Ridge II also offers common areas, onsite parking, a cafeteria, a coffee shop, fitness center, and meeting spaces.

Katie Trevena, senior vice president – Forte Real Estate Partners, led the search for Guardian. With a focus on the West End/Golden Valley submarket to accommodate employee and client proximity, she identified options that provided a Class-A experience and spec or pre-built spaces. “We looked for suites that were already built out, but didn’t find the right option. After viewing the spec suites at Crescent Ridge, we found a great partner in Piedmont to provide a superior build-out that fits Guardian’s needs.”

After Guardian signed the lease in August, Forte’s Vice President of Project Management Wally Tufvander began to complete the tenant improvements, which included leveraging some existing infrastructure. Other project partners were BDH, which designed an elevated reception and employee break room, and Crawford Merz, the general contractor. Matt Elder and Steve Shepard from Newmark represented Piedmont.

“It’s becoming more and more important to understand the ownership structure of office buildings,” said Trevena. “The landlord and the Newmark team were very responsive and supportive of Guardian in their move.”

Guardian partners with Johnson Law Firm to provide complete retirement planning for clients from pre-retirement through estate planning. The 30-person firm was founded in 2010 and has experienced 70% growth in the last three years. Employees work full-time in the office to support the company’s mission to offer clients high-level customer service.

About Us: Forte Real Estate Partners is a team of experienced, passionate, creative commercial real estate experts who advocate for clients, guiding decisions about space that drive their success. Using a more personalized approach, they uncover new ideas and bring value to commercial real estate assets by offering a full-service real estate platform. Forte was recognized as a 2023 and 2024 Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal Best Places to Work and named Professional Services Company of the Year 2024 by the Minnesota Real Estate Journal.