Shell building developed by Great Lakes Capital, The Hagerman Group, and City of Fort Wayne fills critical need in region’s industrial real estate market
The developers of a shell building are celebrating a creative public-private partnership that has brought Amazon Services, Inc. to Fort Wayne, and the development team plans to replicate its success in the market by developing a new move-in ready building nearby.
The scarcity of industrial space in Northeast Indiana led Great Lakes Capital and The Hagerman Group to create a joint venture in 2019 to develop the 20-acre site at 8610 Avionics Dr. near the Fort Wayne International Airport. The 150,000 square-foot building can be expanded to 240,000 square feet.
The Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission assisted the developers through a reimbursement agreement that addressed interest expenses during construction and lease-up. Amazon Services, Inc. plans to utilize the site for a last-mile distribution center as part of their nationwide strategy to continually improve delivery performance.
Bradley Company’s Martin Huttenlocker and Jeremy McClements represented the building developers in the lease transaction. The tenant was represented by Brian Zurawski from Colliers International and Trace Tam-Sing from KBC Advisors, Inc. Bradley Company’s Fort Wayne Office will serve as the building manager.
Great Lakes Capital and The Hagerman Group are now moving on to their next development, which will consist of a similar shell building on the adjacent site to the Amazon building. Current plans call for groundbreaking yet this year, with completion as soon as possible in 2021.
“We are proud to partner with Amazon as they expand their footprint in Indiana,” said Mayor Tom Henry, City of Fort Wayne. “The new Amazon Delivery Station will bring additional jobs, revenue and growth to our community. This is a great win for our local workforce, entrepreneurs, and our citizens.”
“There is far more demand for industrial space than there is supply, and our team believes this shell building program will provide more move-in ready opportunities, particularly at a time when we are relying on more warehousing and distribution capabilities than before,” said Jeff Hagerman, chairman of The Hagerman Group.
“We are proud that our partnership is going to have a positive economic impact on this community, bringing new jobs and investments to Fort Wayne,” said David Arnold, managing director and principal, Great Lakes Capital. “Our team recognizes that productive public private partnerships are critical economic and community development tools in the competitive world of business retention and attraction. We are grateful to the City of Fort Wayne for sharing our vision and for their cooperation throughout this entire process.”
“Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana offer employers a favorable economic climate, thriving community, strong workforce, and a strategic location,” said Martin Huttenlocker, vice president of asset services and principal, Bradley Company.
About Great Lakes Capital
Great Lakes Capital is a real estate private equity firm uniquely positioned to add value to real estate investments through development, redevelopment and opportunistically investing across the real estate spectrum and throughout the capital structure. We concentrate on several core asset classes, including office, industrial, retail, medical office, multifamily and other similar conforming product types as well as mixed use projects. As a market leader in new development we actively address the needs of our tenant partners in addition to speculative development meeting needs the market has not yet reacted to. For more information, please visit: www.greatlakescapital.com
About The Hagerman Group
The Hagerman Group, a 112-year-old privately-owned construction company with offices in Fort Wayne, Ind., Fishers, Ind. and Louisville, Ky., prides itself on reputation, integrity and its emphasis on people—our clients, users of the spaces we construct and our employees. In the end, our focus is on creating spaces where people work, learn, play and conduct life’s everyday activities.
About Bradley Company
With eight regional offices throughout Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, Bradley Company provides commercial brokerage services, commercial and multi-housing management, real estate tax consulting, maintenance services, project and facilities management, corporate services, research services and strategic planning. Bradley Company was founded in 1978 and employs more than 270 professionals who manage more than 3,700 multi-housing units and nearly 8.5 million square feet of commercial properties.
