Inside Track: iSpace Furniture joins commercial expansions on Glenwood Avenue N.

One of the larger office furniture sales-and-installation outfits in the Twin Cities, iSpace Furniture, is growing on Glenwood Avenue N., a rebounding commercial artery that starts at International Market Square.

Earlier this year, iSpace acquired for an unspecified amount The Furniture Source of Eden Prairie, which will operate under the iSpace brand. And the company plans a new office and showroom in Mankato. ISpace is located in a refurbished, 50,000 square-foot-building at 811 Glenwood Ave.

CEO Joel Peterson of iSpace, also the majority owner, said he acquired The Furniture Source in a friendly transaction to leverage its strength as an installer and rely less on third-party installers.

"We had grown to a size where the outsource model had not allowed us to expand and be price competitive," Peterson said. "Furniture Source had a robust service operation. Receiving, delivery, installation, storage, inventory management.

"We're growing rapidly," said Peterson. "The last three years have been back-to-back record years for revenue and profits."

Peterson said iSpace expects record revenue this year of about $20 million and up to 50 employees by year's end.

Peterson, a Bemidji native who attended St. Cloud State University, worked part-time at the old Office Interiors in Edina, which closed during the 1980s. He joined another office-interior business, which also failed.

"So at 26, young and dumb, I just started my own business," Peterson recalled. "It was called Workplace 2000 and I wasn't sure I would make it to 2000. We've evolved a lot. We used to be focused on price-driven transactions, now we're a contractual dealership, driven by larger companies, multiple locations. It's more about managing and delivering the products and services than price."

ISpace is aligned with Teknion, a Canadian furniture manufacturer. It constitutes the bulk of product sales.

Peterson has sales offices across the country. Clients include Polaris, Alerus, LeadPages, CoCo Coworking, Sport Ngin and Piper Jaffray. An interesting assignment was furnishing a short-lived office for Piper Jaffray in Hong Kong several years ago.

"That was the only project I've ever worked on where the most powerful [decisionmaker] was the Feng Shui master," Peterson said. "He had to like it."

ISpace also is part of the expanding "West Market District," a new business association on the north side that spans Glenwood Avenue from International Market Square on Lyndale Avenue, to Theodore Wirth Park about 2 miles away. This once-dilapidated industrial corridor is being rekindled by outfits such as the Knock marketing firm, which spent $4 million-plus since 2010 refurbishing an abandoned structure and building anew on the adjacent site of a former gas station. Knock has 85 employees and contractors.

Todd Paulson, a partner and the chief creative officer of Knock, said the agency relocated from the pricier, crowded warehouse district because it liked the neighborhood, affordable real estate, proximity to downtown and the nearby homes of the principals. The Knock staff also liked being pioneers in a rebounding commercial hub.

"We needed a bigger place and more parking," Paulson said. "And all the bike trails connect here. You can get into the city quickly, avoiding traffic."

Eyebobs, the high-end eyewear company, the Washburn Center for Children, Milda's Cafe and Henry & Son spirits are also Glenwood neighbors. On the west end, Utepils Brewing, a $3.5 million renovation of the former Glenwood Inglewood bottling plant will open this year, including a taproom on Bassett Creek, near Theodore Wirth Park.

Neal St. Anthony has been a Star Tribune business columnist and reporter since 1984. He can be contacted at neal.st.anthony@startribune.com.