9:00 AM
Kenall Manufacturing (Kenall), a leader in the commercial lighting industry, will relocate its headquarters and factory from Gurnee, Ill., to a 354,000-square-foot facility to be built in Kenosha, Wis. The move, announced today by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and company officials, is expected to create more than 350 new jobs over the next five years.
Working with Kenall senior executives, the combined efforts of Newmark Epic (NewmarkE) and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) Global Corporate Services paves the way for a state-of-the-art office and manufacturing facility in the Business Park of Kenosha. Kenall Manufacturing will vacate its current 120,000-square-foot building in 18 to 24 months.
“Kenall’s interest in retaining and hiring their most important assets, their employees, necessitated the southeast Wisconsin and Northeast Illinois search,” said Kenall’s Bill Hartwig, EVP, Finance and Administration.
“We started with 25 to 30 feasible locations, both existing space and development sites, during a rigorous site search that spanned over the course of a year,” said NewmarkE’s Thomas Boyle. “The process executed with Kenall produced the absolute best outcome available in the market.”
Mr. Boyle, with NewmarkE senior associate Jared Paff, teamed with NGKF Global Corporate Services’ Robert Hess, Bradley Migdal and Michael McDermott in this multi-layered process.
The NGKF Global Corporate Services team and Kenall representatives sought out and obtained state and local incentives, without which this move would not have happened. Once details of the tax-increment financing agreement are finalized with the City of Kenosha, the project will move through final permitting, with construction expected to begin in the following months.
“Kenosha’s community leaders, together with Wisconsin state representatives, led By Governor Walker, reaffirmed Wisconsin’s platform to strengthen its economic outlook,” Mr. Hess said. “They are delivering on recommendations in the Be Bold Wisconsin study, competing now at a high level. The state’s turnaround these last two years is the most exciting part of this.
“Propelling Kenosha to the top of Kenall’s list was Business Park of Kenosha’s proximity to Gateway Technical College, an important source of skilled labor and customized training for the company.”
“NGKF provided Kenall with demographic analyses of communities around its potential headquarters sites, and also looked at quality of labor, logistics, proximity to suppliers and other key factors. It was extremely important for the new headquarters to be cost-efficient and serve Kenall’s needs for future growth,” stated Mr. Migdal. “Wisconsin’s healthy state budget was yet another plus.”
“The construction of Kenall’s new manufacturing facility and relocation of their headquarters to the Business Park of Kenosha is great news for the company and the community, and will benefit the entire state’s economy,” Governor Walker said in a press release. “This shows how serious and successful Wisconsin is in helping businesses expand their operations and create new jobs.”
About Newmark Grubb Knight Frank
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) is one of the world’s leading commercial real estate advisory firms. Together with its affiliates and London-based partner Knight Frank, NGKF employs more than 11,000 professionals, operating from more than 340 offices in established and emerging property markets on five continents.
With roots dating back to 1929, NGKF’s strong foundation makes it one of the most trusted names in commercial real estate. Its integrated services platform includes leasing advisory, global corporate services, investment sales and capital markets, consulting, program and project management, property and facilities management, and valuation services. A major force in the real estate marketplace, NGKF serves the local and global property requirements of tenants, landlords, investors and developers worldwide. For further information, visit www.ngkf.com.
NGKF is a part of BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: BGCP), a leading global brokerage company primarily servicing the wholesale financial and real estate markets. For further information, visitwww.bgcpartners.com.