Following suit with most of the country, Milwaukee posted a major turnaround over the last decade in the aftermath of the economic recession in 2007 / 2008. According to US News and World Report, Milwaukee currently has an unemployment rate of 3.1%, which is 0.8% lower than the national average.
Milwaukee is known for precision manufacturing with several major players in the area, such as Harley-Davidson, Johnson Controls, and Rockwell Automation. These companies and others provide the foundation for a strong industrial jobs market and ultimately influences the industrial real estate market in the region.
It is important to address the current pandemic, and how it is affecting / going to have an effect on the economy overall. Fortunately, in Wisconsin, “the fundamentals of the market appear very strong, macroeconomic factors — such as the effect of the coronavirus pandemic — can quickly take the air of the industrial market’s sails. The effect of this pandemic remains to be seen.” This is further expanded upon in the recent Milwaukee industrial real estate update.
“Even with the extremes of the Pandemic going all around us, the Industrial real estate market in southeastern Wisconsin has been remarkably robust. While short term plans may be at risk, the long range plans for companied are still being executed.
Speculative building to meet that demand continues and there is still a positive absorption. We feel this should continue into next year.”
– Terence McMahon, SIOR, GSCS Principal @ The Boerke Company, Inc.
Ashley Capital compiles the top lease, sales, and under construction project statistics every quarter for Milwaukee and Racine’s industrial real estate markets. These stats and transaction highlights include: latest property deliveries, net absorption, vacancy rates, cap rates, price / square foot for sales, and much more.
Top Milwaukee Industrial Real Estate Lease Statistics – Q2 2020
12 Month Deliveries in Square Feet: 4.1 million
12 Month Net Absorption in Square Feet: 1.9 million
Vacancy Rate: 4.8%
12 Month Rent Growth Rate: 0.7%
Top Milwaukee Industrial Leases (Past 12 Months)
1) Property: 311 E Greenfield Ave
Submarket: Third Ward / Walkers Pt
Leased SF: 430,000
Quarter: Q3 2020
Tenant: Komatsu America Corp.
2) Property: 4353 – 4355 N Richards St
Submarket: Milwaukee East
Leased SF: 223,000
Quarter: Q1 2020
Leasing Rep: Phoenix Investors, LLC
3) Property: 5800 W Donges Bay Rd
Submarket: SW Ozaukee
Leased SF: 168,358
Quarter: Q4 2019
Tenant: HB Performance Systems
4) Property: 11925 W Carmen Ave
Submarket: Milwaukee NW
Leased SF: 98,600
Quarter: Q1 2020
Tenant: Hilmot Corporation
5) Property: N53W24700 S Corporate Circle
Submarket: North / Sussex
Leased SF: 95,570
Quarter: Q4 2019
Tenant: Amazon.com Services, Inc
Tenant Rep: Cushman & Wakefield
Leasing Rep: Cushman & Wakefield
Top Racine Industrial Real Estate Lease Statistics
12 Month Deliveries in Square Feet: 1.1 million
12 Month Net Absorption in Square Feet: 1.3 million
Vacancy Rate: 4.9%
12 Month Rent Growth Rate: -0.3%
Top Racine Industrial Leases (Past 12 Months)
1) Property: 7100 Durand Ave
Submarket: Racine East
Leased SF: 291,730
Quarter: Q4 2019
Tenant: Graham Packaging Company
2) Property: 6200 Regency West Dr
Submarket: Racine East
Leased SF: 115,823
Quarter: Q2 2020
Tenant: Budd Van Lines
3) Property: 2701 Nicholas Rd
Submarket: Racine East
Leased SF: 30,944
Quarter: Q4 2019
Tenant: VALME North America
4) Property: 7900 Durand Ave
Submarket: Racine East
Leased SF: 27,000
Quarter: Q3 2020
5) Property: 4731 E Frontage Rd
Submarket: Racine East
Leased SF: 20,667
Quarter: Q4 2019
Top Milwaukee Industrial Sales Statistics (Past 12 Months)
Sales Comparables: 258
Average Cap Rate: 7.7%
Average Price/ SF: $62
Average Vacancy at Sale: 6.6%
Top Milwaukee Industrial Property Sales
1) Property: Stella & Chewy’s (111 W Oakview Pky)
*Rating: 4
Year Built: 2015
Building SF: 164,007
Vacancy: 0%
Price (PSF): $25,290,000 ($154)
Cap Rate: Not Listed
2) Property: 5211 S 3rd St
*Rating: 4
Year Built: 1973
Building SF: 360,000
Vacancy: 0%
Price (PSF): $22,928,470
Cap Rate: 6.5%
3) Property: 6051 S Moorland Rd
*Rating: 4
Year Built: 2019
Building SF: 192,800
Vacancy: 0%
Price (PSF): $18,500,000 ($96)
Cap Rate: Not Listed
4) Property: 4625 W Oakwood Park Dr
*Rating: 4
Year Built: Not Listed
Building SF: 250,000
Vacancy: 0%
Price (PSF): $17,750,000 ($71)
Cap Rate: Not Listed
5) Property: Baptista’s Building (10000 S Franklin Dr)
*Rating: 4
Year Built: 1996
Building SF: 246,348
Vacancy: 0%
Price (PSF): $17,750,000
Cap Rate: Not Listed
*Rating is 1-5, 5 being the best
Top Racine Industrial Sales Statistics (Past 12 Months)
Sales Comparables: 33
Average Cap Rate: 7.5%
Average Price/ SF: $62
Average Vacancy at Sale: 0.4%
Top Racine Industrial Property Sales
1) Property: Johnson Diversey Distribution Center (901 Renaissance Blvd)
*Rating: 4
Year Built: 2007
Building SF: 551,759
Vacancy: 0%
Price (PSF): $41,800,000 ($76)
Cap Rate: Not Listed
2) Property: 7100 Durand Ave
*Rating: 3
Year Built: 1970
Building SF: 601,160
Vacancy: 0%
Price (PSF): $34,700,000 ($58)
Cap Rate: Not Listed
3) Property: Goodwill Expansion (1630 Enterprise Dr)
*Rating: 3
Year Built: 2016
Building SF: 237,900
Vacancy: 0%
Price (PSF): $20,800,000 ($87)
Cap Rate: Not Listed
4) Property: 1333 S Grandview Pky
*Rating: 4
Year Built: 1994
Building SF: 209,151
Vacancy: 0%
Price (PSF): $16,200,000 ($77)
Cap Rate: Not Listed
5) Property: Warehouse / Distribution Center (7601 Durand Ave)
*Rating: 3
Year Built: 1972
Building SF: 246,348
Vacancy: 0%
Price (PSF): $15,500,000 ($44)
Cap Rate: Not Listed
*Rating is 1-5, 5 being the best
Milwaukee Industrial Construction Projects Statistics
Properties Currently Under Construction: 9
Total Size in Square Feet: 1,486,786
Percent of Inventory: 0.7%
Preleased: 73.8%
Top Milwaukee Industrial Projects Under Construction
1) Property: Komatsu Mining Manufacturing (W204 N13125 Goldendale Dr)
Rating*: 4
Building SF: 430,000
Stories: 1
Completion: Q2 2021
Developer/ Owner: WEC Energy Group
2) Property: 7W12922 Good Hope Rd
Rating*: 4
Building SF: 350,000
Stories: Not Listed
Completion: Q2 2020
Developer/ Owner: WP Walleye, LLC
3) Property: Illing Co HQ (W204 N13125 Golddale)
Rating*: 4
Building SF: 248,000
Stories: Not Listed
Completion: Q2 2020
Developer/ Owner: Illing Company Inc
4) Property: 16555 W Small Rd
Rating*: 4
Building SF: 192,800
Stories: 1
Completion: Q4 2020
Developer/ Owner: Westminster Capital
5) Property: Commerce Center East III (15555 W Commerce Center)
Rating*: 3
Building SF: 126,700
Stories: 1
Completion: Q2 2020
Developer/ Owner: Interstate Partners
*Rating is 1-5, 5 being the best
Racine Industrial Construction Projects Statistics
Properties Currently Under Construction: 5
Total Size in Square Feet: 3,034,176
Percent of Inventory: 8.7%
Preleased: 86.9%
Top Racine Industrial Projects Under Construction
1) Property: LCD Screen Plant
Rating*: 5
Building SF: 993,460
Stories: 1
Completion: Q1 2021
Developer/ Owner: Fewi Development Corporation
2) Property: Foxconn Water & Energy (Braun Rd)
Rating*: 3
Building SF: 740,000
Stories: 1
Completion: Q1 2021
Developer/ Owner: Fewi Development Corporation
3) Property: Foxconn Glass (Braun Rd)
Rating*: 5
Building SF: 461,000
Stories: Not Listed
Completion: Q3 2020
Developer/ Owner: Fewi Development Corporation
4) Property: Foxconn Open Cell (Braun Rd)
Rating*: 5
Building SF: 443,000
Stories: 1
Completion: Q1 2021
Developer/ Owner: Fewi Development Corporation
5) Property: Building 3 (11101 Enterprise Way)
Rating*: 5
Building SF: 396,716
Stories: 1
Completion: Q2 2021
Developer/ Owner: Ashley Capital, LLC
*Rating is 1-5, 5 being the best
Data Sources: Ashley Capital & CoStar