CHICAGO, CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI—A major metro area is not always the best site for giant distribution facility. That's what Mills Fleet Farm found out after a 12-month site selection process led it to Ryan Companies' Lake Wissota Business Park in Chippewa Falls, WI. The Midwest retailer recently signed a long-term build-to-suit lease with the Minneapolis-based developer, which will complete a, 1.13 million-square-foot building on a 70-acre parcel by next spring.
The $65 million facility will allow Mills Fleet Farm to modernize its supply-chain operations. With 37 locations across MN, WI, IA, and ND, Mills Fleet Farm serves the Upper Midwest as a retailer of lifestyle products helping active, outdoor families and suburban and farm consumers.
A Chicago-based brokerage team from Avison Young, consisting of principal Brendan Kelly, and vice president Nick Esposito, coordinated a team of more than 30 persons from Mills Fleet Farm and investment firm KKR, which purchased the retailer in 2016, in evaluating multiple locations. Minneapolis, a major metro area in the center of the company's territory, was considered and rejected.
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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.
