River of Goods, Inc. and Terrybear Inc., have both worked with Phil Simonet for more than 20 years as the companies grew from smaller, leased spaces to larger leased spaces and ultimately built a 54,000 sq. ft. office, distribution warehouse headquarters. In addition to the headquarters build-to-suit project, River of Goods leased an additional 42,000 sq. ft. in a new speculative distribution building, in close proximity to the headquarters building. In 2012, Phil helped the business owners acquire a brownfield site from the St. Paul Port Authority to develop the 54,000 sq. ft. office, distribution, warehouse for its businesses.

Over time, Terrybear, Inc. grew into the majority of the new building and, after researching options, the decision was made to relocate River of Goods to a new nearby distribution building. Terrybear Inc.’s continued growth attracted attention from private equity investors, and in 2022, the memorial-urn company was sold to a private equity firm, making Terrybear, Inc., a third-party tenant in the property. A new lease was negotiated by Forte with the building owners as part of the sale of the company. River of Goods eventually had a need for additional office space.

With Phil’s assistance, River of Goods was able to lease a small remaining office suite in the headquarters building thereby solving an office need while also enhancing the financial performance of the headquarters building. To support the now multi-tenanted property, Forte began managing the property to handle deferred maintenance, other operating expenses, and tenant relations. Phil continues his long-term relationship with River of Goods, Terrybear, Inc., and Banbro LLC, the property owner, advising them on how best to utilize real estate, owned or leased, to positively impact business growth and performance.