CASE STUDIES

I-94 Corridor

OPPORTUNITY

Zilber Property Group^SM recognized an unfulfilled need for new construction industrial space among users with operations ranging from 15,000 SF to 85,000 SF in the I-94 Corridor, which connects the Chicago-Milwaukee Megalopolis. This demand came primarily from the existing base of small- to mid-sized businesses in the Northern metro-Chicago (IL) and Southern metro-Milwaukee (WI) marketplaces. Our experience indicated that users in this market segment had an appetite for new, functionally-designed facilities with high-cube height and energy-efficient building systems. In addition, they required "shell complete" buildings that facilitated quick occupancy opportunities while still providing for an ability to cost-effectively customize office space design and process layouts. These companies ranged from entrepreneurial businesses to large corporations, but they shared the mindset that having quality, well located industrial space was of significant value.

OUR SOLUTION

Zilber Property Group went about meeting this demand by acquiring 12 industrial sites (totaling nearly 70-acres) in established business parks ranging from 2- to 16-acres in size from multiple ownership groups over a 12-month period. These industrial sites served as the foundation for the organization's market area projects that positioned Zilber Property Group to be a premier provider of new, available industrial space solutions for mid-sized industrial users. While these sites provided traditional build-to-suit or land scale deal structures common to mid-sized user market, Zilber Property Group also embarked on an aggressive spec building campaign targeting the needs of growing small- and mid-sized businesses.

PROJECT OUTCOME

Over the initial 24-months of the project investment, Zilber Property Group has successfully completed five speculative buildings (totaling over 300,000 SF) accommodating four tenants ranging from 15,000 to 80,000 square feet and sold and additional 9.5 acres of land to other companies. Although some of these transactions involved companies, which were already located within the area industrial submarket, Zilber Property Group experienced an unanticipated high-level of interest from companies outside the area looking to establish a facility which could serve both the Chicago and Milwaukee marketplace.