vice president, Wispark LLC
Company: Wispark LLC
Title: vice president
Education: University of Wisconsin – Madison, degree in real estate and urban land economics
Family: Wife, Kristi and 11-month old daughter, Isabella
City of residence: Wauwatosa
Hobbies & Interests: Golf, travel, exercise, mountain biking, fishing.
What are you working on? "We have various projects and prospects we are pursuing for our LakeView Corporate Park, PrairieWood Corporate Park and GrandView Business Park developments in Kenosha and Racine County. They include office build-to-suit, industrial leases, and land transactions. Interestingly, we’ve had a burst of inquiries lately from multiple companies about establishing data centers in our area. Activity seems to be pretty good down there.
"We own three-quarters of a city block of land in downtown Milwaukee consisting of approximately 3 acres. It is bordered on the south by W. Clybourn, N. Plankinton on the east, 2nd Street on the west and W. Michigan on the north. I’m in the beginning stages of conceptualizing a mixed-use development plan for that parcel and generating a marketing plan to identify end-users. The property has great access and visibility to Interstate 794 and is only two blocks from the Amtrak Station which is currently undergoing a major renovation/modernization. The Amtrak Station will play a major role in the region’s on-going initiative to add rail connectivity to downtown and the metropolitan area."
How does the market look to you? "I am cautiously optimistic for 2007. There are development opportunities out there, but you have to work hard and keep sharpening your pencil to get the deal done. The office market appears slow. I think the industrial market has some strength especially in the I-94 corridor between Kenosha and the airport. I think the Milwaukee market has a lot of potential in the long run, however, fundamentals such as job growth and population growth are needed to create new development opportunities versus playing musical chairs."
What was the best deal you’ve ever been involved in? "211 W. Wisconsin Avenue – 105,000 square foot office building in downtown. This was the most complex and stressful project I have ever worked on but also the most rewarding. We completely gutted the interior but most notably also dismantled the entire exterior skin of the building. This was the beginning of a $10 million-plus makeover. Probably the most complex scope of the project was adding the new modern architectural precast panel and glazing system facade to the 100-year old frame which it obviously wasn’t designed for. Our anchor tenant for the building which we signed up shortly after acquisition was the General Service Administration/ Internal Revenue Service. Working with the government was a learning experience. The project has been very well received by the community and I think it added some new energy and freshness to that corner of downtown. We successfully sold the asset to a Chicago based investment group …. and made a few bucks."
What was the funniest moment of your career? "It seems that most of the funniest moments of my career have occurred during various closing dinners/parties. That’s all I can really say."
