Bongards Creameries will expand Chanhassen office building for new HQ

Address: 8330 Commerce Dr., Chanhassen

Type: Industrial

Addition size: 13,070 square feet

Developer: Bongards Creameries Inc.

Architect: BDH + Young

Details: Bongards Creameries, the 109-year-old, farmer-owned cheese co-op, will more than double the size of its newly acquired headquarters building at the Chanhassen Business Center office/industrial park.

The co-op bought the 9,500-square-foot, single-story office building last year for $850,000, according to state real estate records. The 19-year-old structure, situated next to the Twin Cities and Western Railroad line, is part of a business park along Audubon Road that was established in the early 1990s and is anchored by the National Weather Service's Twin Cities office.

Under the plans approved by the Chanhassen City Council late last month, Bongards will construct a 13,070-square-foot, two-story addition to the original building, expanding its total size to 22,628 square feet. The new section will provide space for office and warehouse uses, meeting rooms and an employee fitness center.

It will also house a test kitchen that will allow clients and other official visitors to sample new products from Bongards, which has doubled sales of its processed cheese during the last five years to $600 million annually.

The headquarters expansion came as the co-op also announced a $35 million project to expand its manufacturing operations in Tennessee. Bongards invested $45 million to upgrade its Perham, Minn., plant in 2015.