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KENOSHA, WI-Panattoni Development Co. has broken ground on a 626,784-sf speculative industrial building, and plans three more facilities on 82 acres it purchased from Wispark at the Business Park at Kenosha. The first phase of the park, about 150 acres, is almost completely occupied, and Panattoni officials say there's still demand for more space.

"The trends in the local area are following the national trend of bigger buildings," says Jason Rosenberg, senior development manager with Panattoni. "And here in Kenosha, the vacancy rates are still quite a bit lower than in Chicago or Milwaukee. The vacancy rates here are in the 3-5% range, which is almost like no vacancy. In those cities it's around 8-10%." The area is popular for having cheaper land and more incentives for development than northern Illinois and Milwaukee.

The company bought four land sites along the western edge of the park. The 626,784-sf building is going up on a 35-acre parcel, in the middle of the purchased property. Rosenberg tells GlobeSt.com that the company is considering the construction of a 650,000-sf spec building on the north part of the property, along I-58. The other two sites, at nine acres and six acres, can accommodate build-to-suit facilities up to 80,000 sf, he says.

There's been some interest already in the building now under construction, Rosenberg says. "We've done two-to-three lease proposals. There are active prospects out there," he says. The facility, at 10100 58th Place, will be the largest building in the park, will be divisible to approximately 100,000 sf and will be available by December on a sale or lease basis. The lease rate will be "in the high $3 range," Rosenberg says, and will cost about $30 million to build.

The 150-acre first phase only has a few spots left, says Mike Prost, with Lee & Associates. He's joined by Sergio Chapa and Rick Delisle in marketing the property. "There is one spec building there being built on one of the last vacant lots," Prost tells GlobeSt.com. "At 55,000 sf, there's 25,000 sf already spoken for. Another 174,000 sf building was just filled by IEA, a radiator manufacturer." Other tenants include Converse Industries Inc., the Mead-Westvaco Corp., Accent Industries and Beere Precision Medical Instruments Inc.

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Panattoni Plans Four Buildings on 82 Acres

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