Money Metals Exchange to construct new building 

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Money Metals Exchange, a rapidly growing Eagle-based company, is breaking ground in October on its 40,000-square-foot precious metals depository and fulfillment center. The state-of-the-art building will be located on a 3.2-acre lot adjacent to city and county emergency services near the heart of Eagle.

The company has selected Zions Bank for financing and Wright Brothers Construction Company as general contractor for its future $21 million building. The goal is to be open for operations by the end of 2023. It will be the largest private depository of its kind, according to the company, outside of financial centers.  

Stefan Gleason founded Money Metals Exchange in 2010 in direct response to dishonest techniques that many national advertisers engaged in, featuring coins that were labeled “rare” or “collectible,” marking up coins to 50%, 100% or even higher above their actual melt value.

The company blossomed quickly. In 2019, there were 25 employees, and today there are more than 90. The new facility is expected to be able to accommodate up to 150 employees.  

Gleason said that the company took time to research the best options for its growth. There were not many land choices in Eagle for a facility of this nature and size, he explained, but the city’s mayor has been focused on recruiting and retaining high-quality businesses to the area. Because of that, the city’s business development staff began working closely with the team at Money Metals to help find available land or potential lots that may come onto the market later. 

Gleason said, “During the lot evaluation stage, the city’s planning department was highly responsive and collaborative whenever we had questions about zoning conditions that may exist. Similarly, during the design review, it was clear the city was excited about our intentions, and the process went smoothly.  The Eagle area has a large talent pool of skilled workers, making it a great place to build a dynamic business.  Not to mention we love the character and amenities of downtown Eagle.” 

But, despite the enthusiasm about launching a construction project and what that meant to the future growth of the company, there were a lot of things to consider — especially the cost of such a development.  

“Given the long-term financial commitment, we did not embark on such a large expansion project lightly,” Gleason explained. “We moved forward only after other approaches had played out, such as moving certain staff to other buildings in the area and engaging other depositories in the U.S. for auxiliary storage of precious metals. As our needs expanded and evolved, it became more and more clear that consolidating all our staff and operations in a single, larger and super-secure facility was the best move — and that our current and forecasted business levels more than justified the expense.” 

The new building will combine state-of-the-art security with an expandable building design that will allow for an additional 15,000 square feet for growth. It will be completely power independent, incorporating solar panels, batteries and a generator system. The company is also planning on tiling and burying an exposed irrigation ditch, as well as constructing sidewalks, burying power lines and installing landscaping and street lighting on the nearby city and county land at the edge of the property.   

Gleason said that despite the ever-fluctuating economy, now was a great time to embark on this new construction project. 

“Negative economic conditions, including inflation, actually contribute to the growth of our type of business, and revenue at Money Metals Exchange and Money Metals Depository has risen nearly tenfold over the past three years,” he said.  “Demand for secure storage of physical gold and silver from our nationwide customer base has also outpaced our current depository vault capacity. Only about 1% of Americans today own gold and silver bullion as an investment or financial hedge, a number that’s poised to rise dramatically in the coming years.”