MANITOWOC, WIS. — Panera Bread has signed a 4,300-square-foot lease in Manitowoc, about 40 miles southeast of Green Bay. The fast casual restaurant will occupy the space at 4626 Calumet St. Joe Kleiman and Dan Cohen of Mid-America Real Estate-Wisconsin LLC represented Panera in the lease transaction. The landlord was not disclosed.
HUDSON, WIS. — Dougherty Funding has provided Express Hospitality LLC with an $8.8 million loan for the construction of a Holiday Inn Express hotel in Hudson, located in western Wisconsin along the Minnesota border. The 100-room hotel will be situated immediately adjacent to a new conference center that is currently under construction. The hotel and the independently owned conference center are slated to open in late summer 2018. Dougherty’s Minneapolis office provided the loan.
OAK CREEK, WIS. — Meridian Design Build has completed construction of a 48,200-square-foot warehouse expansion for GE Healthcare in Oak Creek, about 15 miles south of Milwaukee. The facility now totals 328,028 square feet. The project features LED lighting, six loading docks and two doors connecting the new space to the existing building. GE Healthcare uses the building as a repair operations center, and the expansion will be utilized to house spare and repaired parts for the company’s equipment. Construction began in late August 2017 and was completed in January. Harris Architects provided architectural services while Pinnacle Engineering completed civil engineering work. Exeter Property Group owns the building.
MADISON, WIS. — McShane Construction Co. has opened a new office in Madison. The company will occupy space on the fifth floor of a property located at 25 W. Main St. A native of Madison, Alison Gorham will lead the office and business development efforts in the Wisconsin market. “Our expansion into Madison was prompted by our growing presence in the area and the consistent construction growth within the region,” says Jeff Raday, president of McShane. Rosemont, Illinois-based McShane operates additional offices in Phoenix, Ariz.; Auburn, Ala.; and Irvine, Calif.
In 2017, downtown Milwaukee was unrecognizable from its former self — a year that brought additional outside investment, both public and private development and a rethinking of how we utilize office space. Developers broke a decade-long dry spell in 2016, and now nearly 500,000 square feet of office space is under construction downtown. It’s a story of persistence, as an overhaul of available office product has occurred over the past few years. Now, a vast majority of outdated Class B and C office product has been removed from downtown, bolstering rent growth and enticing the outside investment that Milwaukee deeply needed. Outside investors Prior to the close of 2017, one of downtown Milwaukee’s largest office buildings and the third largest multi-tenant office complex in the state, 310 West Wisconsin Avenue, sold to an investment group based in New York. Just as Millbrook Real Estate Co. and Fulcrum Asset Advisors finished renovating, rebranding and reopening the Two-Fifty office building — a downtown tower that struggled for years — Milwaukee’s second largest office tower, 411 East Wisconsin, sold to Middleton Partners. The repositioned property sold for $50 million more than it fetched just three years prior. Both projects are a testament to …
SUSSEX, WIS. — The Dickman Co. Inc./CORFAC International has negotiated the sale of a 36,203-square-foot industrial building in Sussex, about 19 miles northwest of Milwaukee. The sales price was not disclosed. The property is located on Main Street. Sussex Crossings LLC purchased the asset from Rosenow Creek LLC. Nick Keys and Zach Noble of the Dickman Co. brokered the transaction. Three units are currently available for lease at the property.
MILWAUKEE — Walker & Dunlop Inc. has arranged an $80 million non-recourse loan for the refinancing of 833 East Michigan in downtown Milwaukee. The 359,000-square-foot, Class A office tower, which opened in 2016, is one of the newest additions to the city’s skyline. The property is situated adjacent to the planned Milwaukee streetcar route. Tenants include PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Godfrey & Kahn and Rare Steakhouse. Jim Cope and Andrew Schoene of Walker & Dunlop arranged the three-year loan on behalf of the borrower, Irgens. PGIM Real Estate Finance provided the loan.
MOUNT PLEASANT, WIS. — Meridian Design Build has started construction on a 307,850-square-foot speculative industrial building in Mount Pleasant in southeast Wisconsin. The facility will feature a clear height of 32 feet, 40 loading docks, four drive-in doors, 242 auto parking spaces and 94 trailer stalls. The building will be able to accommodate up to six tenants. Land and Lakes Development is the project developer. Partners in Design is providing architectural services while Pinnacle Engineering is completing civil engineering work. A timeline for construction was not disclosed. This is the second project Meridian has constructed within the 60-acre Mount Pleasant Business Park. Land and Lakes Development sold the first building, which is leased to Goodwill Industries, to Zilber Property Group last year.
MENOMONEE FALLS, WIS. — Connected Technology Solutions Inc. has signed a 42,590-square-foot industrial lease in Menomonee Falls, about 20 miles northwest of Milwaukee. The kiosk hardware and software solutions provider will occupy the entire building located on Garwin Mace Drive. TJ Huenerbein, Samuel M. Dickman Jr. and Samuel D. Dickman of the Dickman Co. Inc./CORFAC International represented the landlord, AJR Properties South LLC, in the lease transaction. Brett Garceau of NAI/MLG Commercial represented the tenant.
MILWAUKEE — The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. has unveiled the 42 store locations that will be closing as part of a previously announced “store rationalization program.” The closing locations are in addition to five other recently announced store closures, four of which the company completed at the end of January. The affected stores include locations under all of the company’s nameplates — Herberger’s, Carson’s, Bergner’s, Younkers, Elder-Beerman and Boston Store. “As part of the comprehensive turnaround plan we announced in November, we are taking the next steps in our efforts to move forward with a more productive store footprint,” says Bill Tracy, president and CEO. Third-party liquidator Hilco Merchant Resources is managing the store-closing sales, which were slated to begin Feb. 1 and run for approximately 10 to 12 weeks. Bon-Ton has dual headquarters in Milwaukee and York, Pa., and operates 260 stores across the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains. For a full list of store closings, click here. Bon-Ton’s announcement comes on the heels of other large retail closings unveiled in January, including Sears, Sam’s Club and Toys ‘R’ Us. — Kristin Hiller