Old Pence Gains New Tenants

The former home of a Minneapolis advertising agency is getting another ad firm and $4 million in renovations.

A small but significant building in downtown Minneapolis is getting a new major tenant.

Advertising agency Wolfmotell will move its offices from Minneapolis' Warehouse District to the Pence Building, former home of Carmichael Lynch, at 8th Street and Hennepin Avenue S. The agency will occupy two floors of the eight-story building, which is nearly 100 years old.

Wolfmotell is the second significant tenant to lease space in the Pence Building in the last several months. Last fall, Art Institutes International Minnesota kept its current facilities at 9th Street and Hennepin but leased three floors in the Pence Building for expansion. The school offers courses in visual arts, fashion and cooking.

The Pence Building changed hands in 2007 after Carmichael Lynch moved to the Wyman-Partridge Building in the Warehouse District.

The Pence's new owner, Minneapolis-based Turnstone Group, is investing about $4 million to renovate the property, according to Mike Wendorf, vice president of the Sherman Group, which manages the property.

Some improvements, such as new elevators and plumbing, have been completed, Wendorf said. Other upgrades will include new windows and mechanical systems and restoration of the exterior.

Wendorf said Wolfmotell has hired 20 Below Studio, a Minneapolis interior design firm, to renovate its 18,000-square-foot facilities in the Pence.

The offices will be more than twice Wolfmotell's space at 431 N. 1st Av., which the 10-year-old agency has occupied for about four years, Wendorf said.