Ivy League Place

Since Summer 2024, Element has been engaged as the leasing partner for Ivy League Place, a historic brick-and-timber office building in St. Paul, working alongside local professional ownership and AJ Dagny Company property management. From the beginning, our role focused on positioning the building for long-term success by aligning leasing strategy, market positioning, and targeted capital improvements.

Role
Element led leasing strategy, repositioning, and ongoing advisory services in collaboration with ownership.

Opportunity & Challenges
Ivy League Place presented a well-located but under-leased historic asset with untapped potential. The challenge was to modernize perception, improve usability, and attract a wider range of tenants while maintaining its character.   The building owners were also capital constrained, so any strategy had to be built on utilizing existing cash flow.

Approach
Following a thorough analysis of the property, Element identified opportunities to enhance the tenant experience while attracting a new wave of businesses seeking character-rich, move-in-ready office space. In close collaboration with ownership and the management team, we helped guide strategic upgrades, including refreshed hallways and elevator lobbies, updated restrooms, a welcoming main lobby, and added amenities such as vending, each designed to elevate daily tenant experience and strengthen the building’s competitive edge.

Results
→ Nearly 95% occupancy achieved
→ 60% increase in weighted average base rent
→ Expanded tenant diversity across industries
→ Strengthened long-term competitiveness

Element’s leasing strategy emphasized Ivy League Place’s inherent strengths: warm architectural character, abundant natural light, flexible suite sizes, existing IT infrastructure, and a central location with easy access to I-94. By pairing these attributes with thoughtful improvements and clear market positioning, we worked to broaden the building’s appeal to a diverse mix of users, including professional services, nonprofits, tech firms, healthcare providers, and creative businesses.

Learn more about leasing opportunities at Ivy League Place.