The pair of buildings that house Blue Cross Blue Shield’s headquarters are under new ownership.

The buildings, River Park I and II, located at 3400 Yankee Drive and 1800 Yankee Doodle Road in Eagan, were sold to Arsenault Holdings this month for over $60 million, according to a news release from the seller, Net Lease Office Properties.

While the landlord has changed, the tenant has not. The two properties are leased to the insurance company “with a recently executed long term lease renewal,” according to a news release from Colliers, a commercial real estate and investment firm, who represented the sellers.

“Our current multi-year lease as the sole tenant of the River Park buildings will continue under new ownership,” said Jim McManus, director of public relations and internal communications for Blue Cross Blue Shield, in an email Monday.

“We look forward to remaining a part of the Eagan community as we have been for the past 50 years,” McManus said.

Net Lease Office Properties was paid $60.7 million for the two buildings, which were constructed in 1982 and 2000. The buildings, which are connected through an enclosed walkway, total 347,472 square feet and include a fitness center and full-service cafeteria.

“Despite all the bad news orbiting the office ecosystem, there is still plenty of liquidity for long term leased office properties with high quality tenants,” said Peter Loehrer, senior associate for capital markets and investment sales for Colliers, in the release.

Previous BCBS headquarters

Blue Cross Blue Shield announced last year that it would vacate its 442,000-square-foot headquarters building at 3535 Blue Cross Road and consolidate operations at the River Park offices across Minnesota 13. The company, which employs around 3,000 people, attributed the change to the hybrid work model.

The future of the 55-acre parcel that includes the main building at 3535 Blue Cross Road, the child care center at 3545 Blue Cross Road and another building at 1750 Yankee Doodle Road is still unclear as recent development plans fell through and the insurance company’s leases expire at the end of the month.

The former headquarters of Blue Cross and Blue Shield as seen Sept. 25, 2014, in Eagan. (Jim Mone / Associated Press)

The third-largest wine distributor in the nation, Johnson Brothers Liquor Co., began eyeing the former Blue Cross Blue Shield campus last year to be redeveloped as its new corporate headquarters and warehouse distribution center.

The liquor company said it was outgrowing its current distribution facility at 1999 Shepard Road, near Crosby Farm Regional Park in St. Paul.

The proposed plan for the new Johnson Bros. headquarters in Eagan included a six-story, 460,000-square-foot warehouse distribution facility with a potential future expansion space spanning another 230,000 square feet.

Eagan residents were quick to voice their concerns about Johnson Bros. potentially moving in and went as far as to organize a petition against the rezoning of the site from “major office” to “industrial.”

Those who live closest to the parcel had concerns about traffic, the loss of green space and pollution levels.

Ultimately, Johnson Bros. decided the location wasn’t the best fit and withdrew its application for redevelopment earlier this year. At the time, the company said it would continue to explore other options around the metro, “including the possibility of remaining in St. Paul.”

The three buildings for sale on the 55-acre parcel are owned by real estate investment company W.P. Carey.

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