An affiliate of Wauwatosa-based commercial real estate firm
Wangard Partners acquired a New Berlin plant that is being vacated by manufacturer
ABB, which is transferring operations to the company’s new $100 million plant elsewhere in the city.
The facility, located at 16250 W. Glendale Drive, was sold to Wangard for $10.85 million, according to state property records.
ABB, a Switzerland-based automation and technology firm, built a complex at 18200 W. Lincoln Ave.
that opened in October, where it will move the operations currently based out of the Glendale Drive facility.
The Glendale Drive property is 21 acres and includes 152,600 square feet of industrial space and a 33,455 square-foot, two-story office facility. The manufacturing facility is expandable to over 255,000 square feet, according to a previous listing from
Newmark.
Wangard plans to take advantage of the opportunity, with the company in early discussions to remove the office building and add more than 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space, according to S
tewart Wangard, executive chairman of Wangard Partners.
"To be competitive, there's a significant investment in automation going on from potential tenants," Wangard said. "So, when companies move they're making sure that they're investing in the technology that results in productivity and efficiency and if we're buying an existing manufacturing building, it better be able to accommodate the new technology. This building is one of the cleanest facilities with modern infrastructure that I've seen in a long time."
Stephen Provancher, managing director of commercial real estate firm Newmark represented ABB in the sale of the building, and is now marketing the space for lease on behalf of Wangard.
"T
his building (is) a one of a kind manufacturing facility with four megawatts of power, multiple cranes, full air conditioning, great loading, high-image office space and located in a premier industrial Park with great access to the interstates," Provancher said. “With the industrial vacancy rate being less than 1% in Waukesha County, the recent activity to find a replacement tenant has been great, and I truly believe this opportunity will not remain on the market very long.”
Waukesha County has a 1.2% industrial space vacancy rate according to the latest market report from the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin.
