“The integration of industrial within a vibrant live-work-play community reflects a growing demand for warehouses in locations that are both transit served and amenity rich,” said Robert Smietana, president and CEO of HSA Commercial Real Estate.

Situated on 17.3 acres, the new development will accommodate users seeking as little as 40,800 square feet. Building specifications include 32-foot clear heights, 50-foot-by-50-foot column spacing with a 60-foot speed bay, more than 30 dock doors and four drive-in doors. Additional features include an ESFR sprinkler system, energy-efficient LED lighting, 342 automobile parking spaces and 140 trailer stalls.

According to Cushman & Wakefield | Boerke, which is leasing the property, industrial vacancy in Waukesha County was just 1.1% in the first quarter, making it one of the tightest submarkets in southeast Wisconsin.

“There’s a clear need for new, high-quality space capable of accommodating today’s users,” Smietana added. “This project at Pabst Farms is arriving at exactly the right time given the recent slowdown in speculative development.”

Cornerstone Architects, a Nelson company, is the project architect, with Pinnacle Engineering as civil engineer and Riley Construction as general contractor.

Since its inception in 2002, Pabst Farms has evolved into one of Wisconsin’s premier mixed-use communities, with nearly 1,000 acres already developed across the residential, retail, healthcare and education sectors. The remaining 450 acres will be built under an updated 2024 master plan that further integrates commercial, industrial and innovation uses.

Also under construction at Pabst Farms is the Pabst59 development by Wingspan Development Group. The 59-acre project will include a 320,000-square-foot innovation hub across four buildings, 162 apartments in five garden-style buildings, two food halls totaling approximately 32,000 square feet surrounding a central plaza, and a mix of retail and office space.

HSA Commercial has been developing industrial facilities across southeast Wisconsin for more than two decades, delivering over 7 million square feet of warehouse space in eight communities since 2016. These projects range from multibuilding business parks and build-to-suit facilities for national logistics and manufacturing users to speculative developments.

Developed on a speculative basis, the warehouses can accommodate multiple tenants or a single user and will offer 28-foot clear heights, individual drive-in doors, drive-in docks capable of accommodating 40-foot trucks and secured automobile parking. Demolition of existing structures on the parcels is expected to take place in the spring, with construction of the new buildings being completed by the end of the year.

“This development will bring the first modern industrial product for small-bay users to Chicago’s thriving Kinzie Industrial Corridor,” said Seth Halpern, principal and co-founder of Range Group. “Given their proximity to Chicago’s densest neighborhoods, they are ideal for last-mile fulfillment as demand for same- and next-day delivery continues to rise.”

“Chicago has the fastest-growing downtown among major U.S. cities, yet is drastically underserved in terms of new warehouse supply, particularly for smaller users,” said Robert Smietana, president and CEO of HSA Commercial. “The growth of e-commerce and onshoring of manufacturing are among the factors that will drive competition for urban industrial space in the years ahead.” 

The warehouses will be less than a mile from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway and approximately 3 miles from the Jane Byrne Interchange, where the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Dan Ryan expressways converge. They are also within walking distance from stops along CTA and Metra rail lines.

Larry Goldwasser of CBRE will lead the leasing.

In a bylined article for REJournals, HSA Commercial’s Tim Thompson, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Industrial Brokerage, reveals that one of Chicagoland’s most booming industrial markets isn’t even located in Illinois.

It’s in southeast Wisconsin.

Zeroing in on the Interstate 94 corridor between Chicago and Milwaukee, Thompson highlights infrastructure improvements, leasing demand and various HSA developments and deals, such as Bristol Highlands Commerce Center East & West and Highland Commerce Center of Somers, to illustrate the transformation of the submarket into an inventory encompassing 84 million square feet across 652 buildings, eclipsing Lake County’s 80 million square feet.

In the near term, we expect recently completed speculative spaces to be absorbed and rents to remain stable. HSA Commercial has nearly 3 million square feet of industrial product in southeast Wisconsin, and we are looking to acquire additional land sites in the submarket for both speculative and build-to-suit development. As a firm that has been actively developing along the I-94 corridor for more than 30 years, we remain bullish on its future as a critical link in ever-evolving supply chains.

-Tim Thompson

Read the full feature here.

Marathon Electric is expected to take occupancy in September 2024 following an interior buildout. The manufacturer of electric motors and generators will use most of the space for warehousing and distribution.

“Our ability to secure a full-building lease underscores the sustained demand for modern warehouse space following record-high construction completions in 2023,” said Robert Smietana, president and CEO of HSA Commercial Real Estate. “Plainfield and adjacent suburbs that benefit from proximity to the airport have proven especially resilient, offering users multimodal transportation access.”

According to Colliers, direct vacancy in the Southwest submarket, which includes Plainfield, was 5.6% in the first quarter, compared with the broader market rate of 9.7%, its highest level since 2010. Developers have slowed activity in response, with just 5.8 million square feet under construction going into the second quarter, well below the year-earlier figure of 18.2 million square feet and the lowest quarterly total since the first three months of 2018.

Situated on 37 acres directly off Highway 40 at Perry Road, Terminus at Hobbs Station features best-in-class specifications, such as 32-foot clear heights, 50-by-50-foot column spacing and 60-foot loading bays. The Marathon Electric building offers 36 dock doors; three drive-in doors; 163 parking spots, expandable to 187; and 48 trailer parking stalls. The adjacent building, which is still available for lease, spans 263,922 square feet, with 31 dock doors; three drive-in doors; 187 parking spaces, expandable to 219; and 30 trailer spaces.

HSA Commercial has been developing in Plainfield for nearly 15 years. In 2022, the firm announced the full lease-up of its seven-building Gateway Business Park—located approximately 3 miles southeast of Terminus at Hobbs Station—a multiphase project that added 1.2 million square feet of space to the market.

In addition to offering near-immediate access to Indianapolis International Airport, Terminus at Hobbs Station is located near Interstate 70, linking the development to the region’s interstate system. This places users an eight-hour drive from over 40 major metropolitan areas and 75% of the U.S. population. Terminus’ corporate neighbors include Amazon, FedEx, UPS, Walmart, Kohl’s, Geodis, Whirlpool, The Home Depot, Pepsi, Ryder, XPO Logistics and Ingram.

Ownership was represented by Jimmy Cohoat and Andrea Hopper, both based out of Colliers’ Indianapolis office. Cohoat also represented Marathon Electric alongside Darren Ross, based out of Colliers’ Atlanta office.

This deal returns Gateway Industrial II to full occupancy after its previous tenant expanded elsewhere within the business park.

In recent years, a record level of speculative industrial deliveries has put downward pressure on occupancy across the Indianapolis market, with net absorption remaining flat to close out 2023, according to CBRE research. Still, absorption totaled 10.5 million square feet last year, the third-highest annual figure on record.

“While leasing activity for large spaces over 400,000 square feet has considerably slowed, the demand for
smaller footprints under 100,000 square feet remains very strong,” said Robert Smietana, CEO and president of HSA Commercial. “This is especially true for modern facilities that offer immediate access to the region’s robust transit infrastructure, which puts more than half of the country’s population within a day’s drive.”

The lease with Continental underscores HSA Commercial’s ability to accommodate tenants as they grow, according to Smietana. The space’s previous tenant, Peli BioThermal, relocated from 50,000 square feet in Gateway Industrial II last year to 138,328 square feet in a newly constructed building in the park, Gateway Industrial VI. This allowed Peli BioThermal to more than double its space without disruption to its operations.

Based in Troy, MI, Continental specializes in workplace food and beverage programs, offering services ranging from 24/7 “micro-markets” to full-service cafes. The company, known for its best-in-class logistics and infrastructure, plans to establish a distribution center and office space at Gateway Industrial II, located at 851 Columbia Road in Plainfield, IN. HSA will oversee the build-out of the office portion while Continental will retrofit the warehouse space, with occupancy slated for June 1.

“As the area’s leader in foodservice and refreshments, Continental Canteen sought an additional, centrally
located and state-of-the-art distribution center to support growing demand and assist in providing our clients with the personal service they know and love throughout Indiana, especially within the Greater Indianapolis Metro Area,” said Sean Rosenberg, director of brand marketing for Continental.

Built in 2004, Gateway Industrial II features a 28-foot clear height and 50-by-50-foot column spacing with 60-foot bays. In addition to Continental, the 104,400-square-foot facility is occupied by Sky Zone Trampoline Park, In Touch Pharmaceuticals and CertiFit Auto Body Parts.

To date, HSA Commercial has completed seven buildings totaling approximately 1,178,000 square feet at Gateway Business Park. Situated on 55 acres, the master-planned development is conveniently located 1 mile from Indianapolis International Airport, five minutes from Interstates 70 and 465, and just 10 minutes from downtown Indianapolis.

Tom Ferguson of Indianapolis-based Premier Commercial and John R. Boyd of Southfield, MI-based Signature Associates represented Continental in the transaction. Terry Busch and Jared Scaringe of CBRE represented ownership.

HARIBO, the world’s leading manufacturer of gummi products, currently occupies the 157,656-square-foot Building 1 at Bristol Highlands Commerce Center East, which is just 2 miles from the company’s first-ever North American production plant in Pleasant Prairie. Those warehousing and distribution operations will move from Building 1 to Building 3, located at 9403 136th Ave., upon completion of the interior buildout in second-quarter 2024.

“HARIBO has been a valued tenant at Bristol Highlands for over two years, and we are pleased to have a building within the same park that is ready to accommodate their rapid growth,” said Robert Smietana, President and CEO of HSA Commercial Real Estate. “This expansion is also a testament to the desirability of the I-94 corridor, which has attracted many new speculative industrial developments. Even though vacancy has increased, construction activity has moderated, which bodes well for the region in 2024 as larger deals like our lease with HARIBO inject confidence into the market.”

Completed in 2022, Building 3 features 36-foot clear heights, 73 truck docks and ample employee parking.

“As we’ve ramped up U.S. production and more consumers get to know and love HARIBO gummies, we need larger warehouse space to house our products,” said Lauren Triffler, director and head of corporate communications for HARIBO of America, Inc. “This larger footprint will help support our growth and continue to serve our customers quickly and efficiently. We’re thrilled to stay in Bristol near our factory and support our local communities, adding more career opportunities as we bring the world’s No. 1 gummi brand to fans around the U.S.”

Once HARIBO moves into Building 3, the company’s former space in Building 1 will be available for lease. Situated between two four-way interchanges and two international airports, Bristol Highlands Commerce Center East is also home to Visual Pak, a Waukegan, Ill.-based provider of contract packaging and manufacturing that occupies a 472,176-square-foot warehouse in the park.

Whit Heitman and Sam Badger of CBRE represented HARIBO in the transaction. Ownership was represented by Jeff Hoffman of Boerke, Eric Fischer of Cushman & Wakefield and Tim Thompson of HSA Commercial.

Midwest Real Estate News has once again ranked HSA Commercial Real Estate in its annual “Best of the Best” as a top developer, owner and property manager of commercial properties.

The firm’s portfolio continues to grow as more major development projects are completed, including: Bristol Highlands Commerce Center East & West, a 2.3 million-square-foot warehouse park located in Bristol, WI; Highland Commerce Center of Somers, a 918,844-square-foot distribution center in Somers, WI; and Gateway Industrial VI, the latest 278,148-square-foot installment in Gateway Business Park located in Plainfield, IN.

All three awards are listed below with their rankings and organized by property type where applicable:

Top Developer (7,044,870 SF) – ranked #10

Top Owner (13,490,873 SF) – ranked #9
Office: 103,524 sf
Industrial: 12,745,002 sf
Healthcare: 642,347 sf

Top Property Manager (17,268,960 SF) – ranked #18
Office: 345,379 sf
Industrial: 13,987,857 sf
Retail: 994,304 sf
Healthcare: 1,077,972 sf
Facilities: 863,448 sf

Complete rankings can be found in the Midwest Real Estate News online edition.

In its November/December 2023 edition, ALM | Globe St. Real Estate Forum has named HSA PrimeCare executive vice president Robert Titzer to its list of national healthcare and senior housing influencers.

Real Estate Forum‘s write-up of Titzer highlights his experience in the industry as a leader for over 25 years, which includes tenant representation, property marketing, real estate development, land transaction and owner representation.

“Throughout his time at HSA PrimeCare, Titzer has partnered with healthcare providers to create modern facilities that meet patient needs amid industry changes, including everything from technological advancements to changes in how providers are reimbursed for services provided.”

In addition, the publication also includes comments from PrimeCare president John Wilson for a feature titled, “Medical Office and Life Sciences: Two Sides of an Investment Coin,” which delves into how despite life sciences and medical office being complementary with one another, investors usually embrace one or the other.

“With single-digit vacancy rates and strong fundamentals like life science but backed by healthcare spending rather than venture funding, it’s still a strong bet for today. And for the future, because with an aging population, there will be plenty of needs for doctors of all sorts, and the medical offices they lease.”

Congratulations to Bob and the HSA PrimeCare team on this recognition! Click here to read the full digital edition of Real Estate Forum.

Given higher interest rates and other challenges in the healthcare industry, some new development has hit a pause, which has led to increased attention on second-generation or existing spaces. This type of space provides benefits for both users and owners, which include more cost-effective buildouts, easier commitment with fluctuating interest rates, and new revenue stream for property owners.

To read the full article, visit RE Journals.