Bell State buys Twin Cities office building

Fargo, N.D.-based Bell State Bank & Trust has bought an office tower in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington..The 15-story tower, at 3800 American Blvd. W., was purchased by Bell State and Sterling Real Estate Trust from MetLife, which originally bought the building in 2004 for $43 million. The two companies paid $52.5 million for the building last Thursday.. "Northland Plaza has tremendous visibility in an area of the metro that has abundant commercial activity and energy," said Todd Lee, executive vice president and Twin Cities managing director for Bell State Bank & Trust. "It is an ideal location for our employees and customers so we're very excited about expanding our teams there.".The acquisition is the latest move in Bell State's Twin Cities expansion following its purchase of Bell Mortgage in 2011. It opened a full-service branch in Golden Valley, Minn., in 2012 and bought Minnetonka, Minn.-based The Business Bank in 2013. Last year, Bell State opened another branch in Woodbury, Minn., and started its Bell Capital Finance Division, which moved to downtown Minneapolis from Golden Valley in May.