MENOMONEE FALLS AND OCONOMOWOC, WIS. — Colliers Barry has brokered the sale of two industrial facilities in Wisconsin. The first property is located in Menomonee Falls Industrial Park in Menomonee Falls. It comprises a 24,500-square-foot building situated on more than 3 acres of land. It also has a 12-foot clear ceiling height. Kanehl Properties LLC purchased the building from a group led by Norbert Miller. The buyer is expanding from Milwaukee to this building. James Young of Colliers Barry brokered the transaction on behalf of the seller and Jim Allen and Terry McMahon of Boerke Co. represented the buyer. Colliers Barry also brokered the sale of a 14,000-square-foot building located at 1815 Executive Dr. in Oconomowoc. JM Development purchased the building from the Trainor Family Q TIP Trust. JM Development will renovate the building by adding offices and converting the space into a two-tenant layout. Young again represented the seller, and Dave Hazenfield of Dickman Co. represented the buyer.
When it comes to the metro Detroit area, perception may not equal reality. The once-and-future motor city is meeting the challenges of a downsizing auto industry and a national economic slow down head on. The changing dynamics have altered the names of expanding retailers, but this shift has managed to present an opportunity to many local entrepreneurs and market savvy retailers. Similar to the rest of the country, the metro Detroit retail sector has been impacted by consumer pull back, national big box closures and the reduction in new store openings. Store closures from Mervyns, Circuit City, Cost Plus, Linens N Things, La-Z-Boy and Office Depot have increased the overall vacancy rate to 9.9 percent, and left landlord’s seeking replacement retailers and/or new uses for empty space. Increasing vacancy is pressuring the market, slowing demand for new development in greenfield growth markets and creating better opportunities for new locations in dense, established markets. Aside from Taubman Center’s Mall at Partridge Creek, metro Detroit did not get caught up in the over development of lifestyle centers in recent years. Instead, Michigan developers focused on smaller, traditional grocery centers or Walmart, Meijer or Target-anchored endeavors. A number of these projects have recently …
CHICAGO — Summit Design + Build has been selected by owner/developer SSK Partners to redevelop a seven-story, 88,746-square-foot timber warehouse into a modern loft office building. Located at 1033 W. Van Buren St. in Chicago, the building will be converted into multi-tenant office space over phases. Summit, which is teaming with MRSA Architects, will first install a new freight elevator, as well as new mechanical, electrical and fire protection/sprinkler systems. The second phase of construction will begin upon the completion of core and shell build out.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Grand Rapids-based Grubb & Ellis|Paramount Commerce has brokered the sale of two area industrial facilities. In Sparta, which is situated just north of Grand Rapids, the firm’s Steve Marcusse and Matt Abraham have represented Mercantile Bank in the sale of a 33,747-square-foot industrial building located at 100 Applewood Dr. to Storage Control Systems. Stu Kingma of The Wisinski Group represented the buyer. The bank-owned property, which is in need of some upgrades, will be updated by the buyer in order to accommodate modern space requirements. In the southern Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming, Clean Earth LLC has acquired a 16,500-square-foot industrial facility located at 4750 Clyde Park Ave. from Julius Duthler Trust. The truck center was sold to a local septic tank business that will utilize the property for truck maintenance and storage. Marcusse negotiated the transaction on behalf of the buyer; Randy Bronkema, Derek Hunderman and John Kuiper of Grubb & Ellis|Paramount Commerce represented the seller.
MILWAUKEE — A former Ramada Inn located at 6401 South 13th St. in Milwaukee has completed a $14 million transformation into a five-story, 194-guestroom Crown Plaza. The Crown Plaza Milwaukee Airport is located just 2 miles from General Mitchell International Airport, and features significant meeting and banquet space, a fitness center, a business center and an airport shuttle. The hotel is owned Amana Hospitality and managed by Interstate Hotels & Resorts, under a licensing agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group.
CHICAGO — National law firm Polsinelli Shughart PC has signed a 15-year lease for space within Tishman Speyer’s Chicago Title and Trust Building, which is located at 161 N. Clark in downtown Chicago. The firm will relocate this fall from a 15,000-square-foot office in Two Prudential Plaza, expanding to 29,000 square feet on the Chicago Title and Trust Building’s 41st and 42nd floors. Polsinelli Shughart has hired Chicago-based Whitney Architects to convert the raw space into a Class A office location for its more than 30 attorneys and support staff. Grubb & Ellis brokered the lease on behalf of the tenant.
CHICAGO — Rosemont, Ill.-based McShane Construction Co. has completed Casa Morelos, a seven-story, 45-unit affordable housing project located in Chicago. The building is situated at 2015 S. Morgan St. with the city’s Pilsen neighborhood. It comprises one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units; other features includes a community room and an on-site laundry facility. The project has also registered with the Chicago Green Homes program; sustainable features include a green roof, Energy Star appliances, recycled construction materials, low-VOC paints, a permeable pavement and an energy-efficient boiler system. The project architect is Weese Langley Weese Architects and the developer is The Resurrection Project, a non-profit affordable housing developer. McShane is also working on an affordable senior housing project for The Resurrection Project named Casa Maravilla, which is located at 2012 S. Morgan St. and is scheduled for completion in June 2010.
MONEE, ILL. — Principle Construction Corp. has been selected to complete a 178,250-square-foot tenant build-out for Des Moines, Iowa-based logistics provider Jacobson Cos. The tenant will occupy space within Lot 2 of Bailly Corporate Ridge Corporate Center, located at 25810 S. Ridgeland Ave. in Monee. The build-out includes 3,750 square feet of office space, warehouse improvements that will make the facility fit for food re-packaging, the construction of perimeter fencing and the installation of 21 additional trailer parking spaces. The project architect is Harris Architects. Jacobson Cos. will occupy space within a 431,000-square-foot, cross-docked distribution building. The facility is situated on 24 acres, and features 32-foot clear ceiling heights, 10,000 square feet of office space, 40 docks and 46 trailer parking stalls, with expansion capability. Bailly Ridge Corporate Center is a 412-acre master-planned business park that is being developed by Location Finders International. At full build-out, it will contain 7.5 million square feet of space.
EAST ST. LOUIS, ILL. — Groundbreaking has occurred for a new $2.15 sports bar and entertainment venue for The Casino Queen, a casino and resort located at 200 S. Front St. in East St. Louis. Known as SEVENS, the venue will feature 16 high-definition televisions, a retractable projection screen, museum cases that feature St. Louis Cardinals memorabilia and a 360-square-foot performance stage near a dance floor. SEVENS is expected to open this fall. St. Louis-based KAI Design & Build is serving as projects architect with Legacy Building Group serving as general contractor. The Casino Queen recently completed a $2.2 million hotel renovation project.
FREEBORN COUNTY, WIS. — Wisconsin Power & Light Co., a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp., has received unanimous approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin for the construction of a new wind farm. The project, which is known as the Bent Tree Wind Farm, will be located in Freeborn County. It is expected to cost $425 million to $475 million and will generate approximately 200 megawatts of electricity — enough to power approximately 50,000 homes. Bent Tree Wind Farm will be Wisconsin Power & Light’s second wind farm in the state. The first, the 68-megawatt Cedar Ridge Wind Farm, is located in Fond du Lac County and began operation in December 2008.