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6/30/10
THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
CITY CRAFTS A NEW PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN
City identifies 'catalytic' projects for development
By: Tom Daykin
"When city officials in 1999 last wrote a downtown Milwaukee master plan, the wish list of key proposals included a RiverWalk expansion, a new Public Market in the Historic Third Ward, and a remodeled Amtrak station - all three now a reality.
The city on Wednesday is unveiling its latest downtown plan proposal. The list of envisioned "catalytic" projects includes..."
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LOCAL MARKET TRENDS DRIVE BIG REAL ESTATE MOVES
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7/21/10
BIZ TIMES
MILWAUKEE CENTER OWNER TO BUY 100 EAST WISCONSIN BUILDING
 CommonWealth REIT, a Newton, Mass.-based real estate investment trust, which owns the 28-story, 373,516-square-foot Milwaukee Center building in downtown Milwaukee, is under contract to purchase the 35-story, 430,800-square-foot 100 East Wisconsin Ave. building, also located in downtown Milwaukee, from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., according to sources.
Tenants in 100 East Wisconsin, the second tallest building in the city and the state, were recently notified about the deal. If the sale is completed, CommonWealth REIT will control 804,316 square feet of office space in downtown Milwaukee. Most of that space is occupied. The 100 East Wisconsin building is about 95 percent occupied and the Milwaukee Center building is about 90 percent occupied.
A representative for CommonWealth REIT could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for Northwestern Mutual declined to comment. "We don't comment on any real estate transaction until it is finalized," said Jean Towell, the Northwestern Mutual spokeswoman. The 100 East Wisconsin building has an assessed value of $65.5 million, or about $152 per square foot, according to city of Milwaukee records. In 2008, CommonWealth, then known as HRPT Properties Trust, purchased the Milwaukee Center building at 111 E. Kilbourn Ave. from Transwestern Investment Co. for $53 million, or about $142 per square foot. A Milwaukee commercial real estate source said the sale of the 100 East Wisconsin building is expected to be higher than the per square foot sale price of the Milwaukee Center building. The tenants in the 100 East Wisconsin building include: Michael Best & Friedrich, which leases 112,684 square feet of space; Wells Fargo Bank, 44,670 square feet; Marcus Corp., 41,219 square feet; Cleary Gull Holdings Inc., 23,540 square feet and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 22,894 square feet. John Hawks Pub is also located in the building. It remains to be seen if CommonWealth will decide to increase the rent at 100 East Wisconsin. Rents in the building vary from $7 to $18 per square foot. The REIT might decide it needs to increase the rent to recoup its investment in purchasing the property. However, the weak economy could make a rent increase problematic. "It's very hard to raise rents when the economy (stinks), said Mike Mervis, vice president of Milwaukee-based Zilber Ltd. "I would be very surprised if you saw any rent increases." Construction of the 100 East building was completed in 1989. It was developed by a joint venture of Northwestern Mutual and Charlotte, N.C.-based Faison Associates. Northwestern Mutual now owns 100 percent interest in the property.
CommonWealth REIT primarily owns and leases office buildings. According to its web site, as of March 31, CommonWealth owned office and industrial properties worth a total of $6.6 billion with about 67 million square feet of space, located in 35 states and Washington DC. CommonWealth REIT was previously known as HRPT Properties Trust. The company changed its name and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CWH on July 1.
7/09/10
BIZ TIMES
ART INSTITUTE OF WISCONSIN TO OPEN IN THIRD WARD
 The Art Institutes recently announced the opening of a new school, The Art Institute of Wisconsin, which will hold its first day of classes this fall. The Art Institute of Wisconsin, the school systems first location in the state, will occupy approximately 35,000 square feet of remodeled space at the..."
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6/17/10
THE BUSINESS JOURNAL
SUMMERFEST CLOSES PURCHASE OF CHARTER SITE
"Milwaukee World Festival Inc., which operates Summerfest, has purchased the former Charter Wire industrial building at 100 North Marshall St. to create more parking.
Milwaukee World Festival purchased the property for..."
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5/14/10
WALL STREET JOURNAL
"Bailout Missed Main Street, New Report Says"
Loans to Small Businesses Dropped at Double the Overall Rate, Claims Watchdog Group; 'Lending Is Not Springing Back'
By EMILY MALTBY
Government funding to U.S. banks has done little to ease the credit crunch for small businesses' and the situation doesn't seem to be improving, according to a new report.
The value of large banks' loans to small businesses shrank 9% between 2008 and 2009, more than double the 4.1% drop for..."
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6/17/10
THE BUSINESS JOURNAL
ZBB ENERGY GETS $10M CAPITAL COMMITMENT
ZBB Energy Corp. of Menomonee Falls said Wednesday that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement that will give it access to up to $10 million in financing over the next two years.
Under the agreement with Socius CG II Ltd., an affiliate of Denver investment firm Socius Capital Group, ZBB (NYSE AMEX: ZBB) has the option of requiring Socius to buy, in separate tranches, up to $10 million of redeemable subordinated debentures and/or shares of redeemable series A preferred stock. The debentures bear interest at an annual rate of 10 percent and the shares of series A preferred stock accumulated dividends at the same rate.
"The flexibility of this investment allows us to access capital only as..."
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6/09/10
BIZ TIMES
UWM SCHOOL OF FRESHWATER SCIENCES PLANS COULD BOOST WALKER'S POINT
 "Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood could receive a considerable boost when the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee develops two locations for its new School of Freshwater Sciences on the citys near south side.
UWM recently announced that it will build a $50 million addition to its existing Great Lakes Water Institute at..."
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6/30/10
BIZ TIMES
NEW DOWNTOWN PLAN PROPOSES REDEVELOPMENT OF BUS TRANSIT CENTER SITE
 "A proposal to relocate the Milwaukee County Transit System's downtown bus transit center from its current location near the lakefront to a site near the Intermodal Station so that the bus transit center site can be redeveloped is a key recommendation in the new downtown Milwaukee master plan, which will be unveiled today."
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6/21/10
THE BUSINESS JOURNAL
FIRM BUYS PROPERTIES NEAR PARK EAST
"McKinley Avenue LLC has purchased two downtown Milwaukee properties involving 45,000 square feet of buildings on three quarters of North 6th Street and McKinley Boulevard.
The buildings were sold in connection with the ongoing development of a multimillion-dollar project located at..."
Read more: Firm buys properties near Park East - The Business Journal of Milwaukee
4/28/10
"Hands On Garage Inks Deal in Milwaukee"
Private Owners Lease 11,700 SF to Auto Repair Business
Published in CoStar Headlines
By Matthew Myers
Hands On Garage, a Milwaukee-based do-it-yourself themed automotive repair business, signed an 11,690-square-foot lease for three years at 5757 N. Lovers Lane in Milwaukee. The tenant will be occupying the entire building.
The service building was constructed in 1969 in the Milwaukee Northwest Industrial submarket, near Highway 45. The property features two loading docks and four drive-in bays.
Jeff Horn of Grubb & Ellis|Apex Commercial, Inc. represented the private landlord and Jon Packee of NAI MLG Commercial represented the tenant.
4/24/09
THE BUSINESS JOURNAL
"Good time to be in the office market"
LANDLORDS WILLING TO OFFER FREE RENT, OTHER INCENTIVES TO GET DEALS
 It's good to be a tenant looking for office space in the Milwaukee-area market.
Due to the economic downturn, landlords are striking deals that include free rent for up to a year, generous tenant improvements or buildout allowances, free parking for employees and other concessions to convince tenants to sign long-term leases of 10 or more years.
"Not many office lease deals are completed without some kind of incentive," said Dan Jessup, president of Grubb & Ellis/Apex Commercial, a Brookfield commercial real estate brokerage.
Jessup has been involved in several recent lease transactions that have included incentives to help defray the cost of moving expenses and even telephone and cabling allowances.
Grubb & Ellis/Apex Commercial is currently leasing medical office space in a new $15 million project by Wauwatosa developer Bill Patch at the intersection of Pilgrim and Lisbon roads in Menomonee Falls that will feature two 27,800-square-foot buildings. Jessup is offering prospective tenants one year of free rent as part of a 10-year lease.
"In the past year, landlord concessions have definitely escalated," said Jessup.
The corner of Pilgrim and Lisbon roads has three developments in planning stages. In addition to the medical offices on the northwest corner that are expected to be constructed by the end of 2009, VK Development, Brookfield, is planning to build 27 single-family homes on the southeast corner. The 40-acre northeast corner of the intersection will be the new home for the Brookfield Victory International Fellowship, a church formerly known as the Brookfield Assembly of God Church.
Sunburst Apparel Inc., a Hartland T-shirt printing company, signed a long-term lease for 35,125 square feet of office and warehouse space at 340 Maple Ave. in Hartland from Roadster Hartland LLC. Jim Young, a broker with Colliers Barry, Milwaukee, said he received free rent and other discounts for Sunburst Apparel by negotiating aggressively with the landlord's broker. He would not disclose the terms of the lease arrangement.
The low cost of the space allowed Sunburst to expand its growing business and keep the relative rental cost equal to its prior space, said Young.
"Landlords are being squeezed, which affects profitability, but doing discounted deals is better than none at all," said Charlotte Zurn, a broker and vice president of NAI MLG Commercial, Brookfield.
While retail numbers locally and nationally have been dismal, Marianne Burish, a vice president broker with Siegel-Gallagher in Milwaukee, said retail landlords in the more sought-after markets such as downtown Milwaukee and in the 3rd Ward are sticking to their guns and refusing to give in to tenants asking for concessions.
Eventually, retail landlords may join office landlords playing the concession game if a property sits idle for an extended period of time, Burish said. Large shopping malls and open-air lifestyle centers may also join the abated rent parade as mall spaces remain vacant for long periods of time, said a spokeswoman at Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa.
A recent study by the real estate research company Reis Inc., New York City, reported that the amount of retail space occupied in U.S. shopping centers dropped by 8.7 million square feet in the first quarter of 2009. Figures for Milwaukee-area malls and shopping were not available from Reis.
The decline in the amount of occupied space that shopping centers and malls experienced in the first quarter was equal to the retail space lost in all of 2008, according to the Reis study.
"I think brokers are expecting retailers to begin seeking incentives because times are tough and realistically tenants may be in a position to take advantage of landlords," Zurn said.
In the office market, Jessup doesn't see the trend toward concessions, free rent and generous tenant improvement going away any time soon.
2/18/09
BIZ TIMES
"Deal of the Week"
Zeon Solutions Inc. recently purchased an 8,558-square-foot office condo at 311 E. Chicago St. in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward from Hawley Strigenz Development and Weas Development for $1,283,700. Zeon is relocating to the Third Ward building from their current location on Innovation Drive in the Milwaukee County Research Park. Other purchasers of office condos in the building include Bob Kraft of PSA North America, David Baum of Schroeder & Holt Architects, Doug Weas of Weas Development, Charles Gabaldon of Gabaldon Properties, Robert Schmidt of Boulder Venture, Tyler Hawley and Kyle Strigenz of Hawley Strigenz Development and The Matrix Group. Zeon Solutions was represented by Michael Streit and Paul Galbraith of Grubb & Ellis/Apex Commercial in brokering the purchase.
3/18/09
BIZ TIMES
"Deal of the Week"
Published March 18, 2009 - Real Estate Weekly
Brookfield-based Grubb & Ellis|Apex Commercial announced that senior vice president Robert LcCalire and vice president Paul Galbraith were the listing brokers for the sale of the 126-acre Camp Webb property in Wautoma, located in Waushara County. The property, located along Little Hills Lake, was purchased by Twin Land Holdings LLC. The sale price was not disclosed but the listing price was $2.5 million. The property was operated as Camp Webb and hosted summer activities and camps since 1960 by the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee. Twin Land Holdings will lease the property to a camp operator, and the new camp will be operational this summer as Camp Lakotah.
12/19/08
THE BUSINESS JOURNAL
"Grubb & Ellis closes two major industrial deals"
By: Pete Millard
"Brookfield's Grubb & Ellis/Apex Commercial Inc. closed two seven-year leases in early December for $12.9 million totaling 630,500 square feet of industrial space in Milwaukee and Memphis, Tenn.
Dan Jessup, president of the real estate brokerage firm, handled the larger of the two transactions for Menomonee Falls-based DDN-Obergfel, a medical supply distribution subsidiary of The F. Dohmen Co., Milwaukee.
DDN-Obergfel leased a 428,000-square-foot distribution facility in the..."
7/10/08
SMALL BUSINESS TIMES
Real Estate Weekly
Real estate deals of the week
Chris Coakley, the owner of Milwaukee-based C. Coakley Relocation Systems Inc., recently purchased the 407,000-square-foot Briggs & Stratton facility at 500 N. Spring St. in Port Washington from Briggs & Stratton Yard Products Group. Grubb & Ellis|Apex Commercial broker Jeff Horn represented the buyer and seller in brokering the deal. Briggs & Stratton Corp. is now leasing the building from Coakley, and plans to close the plant by the end of the year. The plant is the former Simplicity Manufacturing Co. outdoor power equipment plant. Coakley said his company will use about a third of the building and he will lease the remaining two-thirds to other tenants.
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