315 W. Edgerton Ave., a 63K facility at Milwaukee's main airport.
MILWAUKEE—Industrial properties are at the top of many investors' wish lists, but that also means the competition for core buildings has gotten intense, and some buyers have begun checking out secondary markets. Avison Young, for example, has just negotiated the sale of a five-building, 191,000-square-foot industrial portfolio in the Milwaukee General Mitchell Airport industrial market, known as The Gateway to Milwaukee.
“I think this shows that there is a new subset of the industrial sector that is getting a lot of attention,” Avison Young principal Erik Foster tells GlobeSt.com. These infill class B properties, especially those adjacent to airports or other key facilities, are in high demand from users and generate solid yields. The portfolio at Mitchell is typical, with a diverse set of long-term, high-credit tenants with a history of renewals and expansions. Among the national tenants that occupy space within the portfolio are Enterprise Rental Car and Xerox.
Foster and principal Mike Wilson, who lead the firm's national capital markets team in Chicago, represented the seller, Zilber Property Group. The buyer was a local commercial real estate investment group with other properties in the area. The sales price was not disclosed.
The buildings include:
· 315 W. Edgerton Ave., 63,654 square feet
· 4903–4907 Howell Ave., 24,096 square feet
· 4965 S. Howell Ave., 32,200 square feet
· 4930 S. 2nd St., 51,721 square feet
· 4960 S. 2nd St., 19,287 square feet
“We're seeing a lot more traction for infill assets,” Foster adds. “I think infill is a significant strategy for a lot of players in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas.” Part of the reason is that these properties can do more than generate short-term returns. The scarcity of land around the region's airports coupled with the intense demand means “there is a likelihood for potential redevelopment.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
