An affiliate of Chicago-based
HSA Commercial Real Estate purchased a 17-acre site in the Pabst Farms area of Oconomowoc.
The company paid $3.35 million for a vacant property at 1000 Blue Ribbon Circle N in Oconomowoc, according to state records. The site is located within the area of Pabst Farms that is southwest of I-94 and Highway 67.
The seller was an affiliate of Whitewater-based
Lifetime Piers. The dock manufacturer in 2022
gained approval to construct a nearly 250,000-square-foot multi-tenant building at the site, but never moved forward with construction, according to Jason Gallo, Oconomowoc city planner.
Lifetime Piers, the sister company of pier installer Summerset Marine, had planned to move its operations to the Oconomowoc facility after a fire seriously damaged the company's facility in Eagle. However, the company opted to purchase buildings in Whitewater instead, state records indicate.
The Pabst Farms site purchased by HSA Commercial is near Wisconsin Brewing Company Park, where the Lake Country Dockhounds baseball team plays, the Wisconsin Harley-Davidson dealership and a Staybridge Suites hotel. There are also several industrial buildings in that area, including a large Roundy's warehouse.
HSA has been an active developer of industrial properties in Wisconsin in recent years, constructing hundreds of thousands of square feet of space in the Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee counties. The company did not immediately respond to request for comment on plans for the Oconomowoc site.
While Kenosha and Racine counties have seen a good amount of large-scale spec buildings go up in recent years, there has been less new construction in Waukesha County where workable sites are less plentiful.
The vacancy rate for industrial buildings in Waukesha County was 1.2% at the end of 2023, according to the most recent market report by the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin.
