By Todd Battle, President – Kenosha Area Business Alliance
Southeast Wisconsin in general, and Kenosha County specifically, enjoyed another spectacular year in terms of development activity in 2014.
Notable projects that were announced or initiated during the year included Niagara Bottling’s new facility in LakeView Corporate Park in Pleasant Prairie, InSinkerator’s new production operation in the Business Park of Kenosha, multiple significant expansion projects announced by ULINE, and corporate relocations to Kenosha County by the FNA Group and Quest Products.
All told these projects account for nearly $300 million in new capital investment and approximately 1,500 new family supporting jobs for the Kenosha County Area. This level of activity continued the area’s positive momentum on the heels of a 2013 campaign that generated record levels of investment and job creation and included major manufacturing and logistics projects from Amazon, Emco Chemical, Hanna Cylinders, Kenall Manufacturing, Meijer and Ta Chen.
This significant run of development activity has generated approximately 4,200 new jobs and over $800 million in new capital investment in the last two years. The area’s unemployment and industrial vacancy rates have also experienced significant declines.
Improving national economic trends, the State of Wisconsin’s business climate (including a balanced state budget, a fully funded state pension system, and the near-phase out of state income tax on manufacturing), aggressive economic development efforts and a sound education and workforce development system have all been contributing factors.
These developments, and the related decline in the area’s industrial vacancy rate, have helped to spur construction of new speculative industrial buildings, as well as increase interest in the establishment of new industrial parks and sites in Southeast Wisconsin.
Centerpoint Properties began construction on two new buildings in LakeView Corporate Park, a 412,000 SF facility and a 521,000 SF building, in late 2014. The 521,000 SF facility has since been leased to ULINE.
Also, Zilber Property Group recently completed a 176,000 SF facility in Pleasant Prairie. This was leased in December of 2014 to the FNA Group. Zilber expects to break ground on a 173,000 SF speculative industrial building in the Business Park of Kenosha in the Spring of 2015.
Several developers, including Bridge Development, Dermody Properties, and Venture One Real Estate have, or are contemplating acquiring, land sites for business park developments within Kenosha County. These projects will help ensure that the area maintains a health supply of development ready sites for future development projects.
With the brisk pace of hiring expected to continue as these projects are completed and put into operation, the area’s workforce and education partners are working together to identify and address potential skills gaps and labor force needs so that new and expanding employers can find the talent they need to support their companies.
