By Ryan Whisner
Fort Atkinson’s Robert L. Klement Business Park will now be listed and marketed by Artisan Graham Real Estate.
A two-year agreement with the firm, which is predominantly focused on commercial sales, was approved by the Fort Atkinson City Council at its Tuesday, Sept. 6 meeting.
The agreement is at a discounted commission of 5% which is 1% less than the expired contract with Madison Commercial Real Estate. In addition, Artisan has committed to quarterly reports for updates so that we can stay in constant communication relating to the level of interest and who is out there seeking parcels.
Currently, the Klement Business Park is listed as one 82-acre parcel at a price of $1.82 million on Multiple Listing Services (MLS). One of the primary changes Artisan Graham intends to implement is to create separate listings, with photos of the 8 remaining lots in the park.
Also, the firm, which has local ties, is proposing a slight decrease in the cost per acre of the lots with Janesville Avenue frontage from $40,000/acre to $30,000/acre. Other parcels will remain at $20,000/acre.
Real estate agent Brandon Housley, a former member of the city council, presented the firm’s offer at the meeting.
He noted that prior to his time on the council, he was not aware there were multiple lots at Klement Business Park because it was listed as the one entry, and he simply didn’t have any clients interested in one parcel for $1.82 million.
“Had I known we had parcels, anywhere from 2 to 11 acres that would have been a whole different story,” he said. “We just see a big opportunity for the city of Fort Atkinson to be better represented.”
Housley noted that the Artisan Graham has realtors who have experience in Dane, Waukesha, Rock, and Jefferson counties.
“We’ve seen parcels of this same size in the Madison area that would probably go for five to 10 times more expensive, and I don’t know how much more in taxes,” he said. “It’s a big enticement for people that are looking in the area.”
From a location perspective, the business park is located within about 30 minutes of Madison, 20 minutes from Janesville and reasonably close to the interstate for access to Chicago.
“There’s a lot of people looking for warehouse space, mixed use that really fit well with what the city is hoping to develop within the business park,” Housley said.
The city currently has a pending offer on Lot 11 at the corner of Mielke Drive and Commerce Parkway for development of a 17-building complex. A closing date has not been set but the city remains in contact with the buyer and remains confident that the project is moving forward.
Also, in July 2022, the city repurchased a lot that had been sold to Mickelson Investments LLP in June 2020. It was determined the proposed development would violate the business park’s covenants.
The Robert L. Klement Business Park was developed when, during a three-year span toward the end of the 1990s, virtually no land was available for incoming industry and existing industries seeking to expand while remaining within the community. The city acquired the business park property in July 1998, establishing a tax incremental financing district (TID) in November 1999.
Preliminary development occurred as Wood Design Inc. relocated to the park in May 2001. After that Integrated Process Engineers and Constructors Inc. (IPEC), RateWatch, Central Coast Restaurant and the Dance Club, and Rock River Dental built in the business park.
From 2009-16, the city had an exclusive listing agreement with NAI MLG Commercial to market and sell the land in the business park.
However, during that span there were no lot sales and development was limited to an expansion of had been minimal beyond an expansion of IPEC.
For three years the city had the property listed with CBRE Inc. of Milwaukee. In 2019, the city hired Mike Herl, agent with Madison Commercial Real Estate, who had some success in filing the downtown Creamery Building. That agreement with Herl expired in August 2021.
Over the years, the site has had signs of interest. During its search through southern Wisconsin, Fort Atkinson was even a small blip on Foxconn’s radar.
According to Fort Atkinson City Manager Rebecca LeMire, a proposal was submitted to the city by Housley and Jeff Hoeye, representing Artisan Graham Real Estate, in early August.
She said staff reviewed the proposal from Artisan Graham and set up an interview with herself, Economic Development Commission Chairperson Jim Nelson, City Engineer Andy Selle.
LeMire acknowledged that the quality of the marketing materials and proposed strategy was impressive. In addition, the pair have local ties and have been successful in the commercial and residential real estate field over the past several years.
Subsequently the Economic Development Commission reviewed the proposal and recommended approval of a two-year agreement which has no impact on the tax levy.
Any sale of land within the business park will reduce the overall debt and allow the city to close finances related to the park earlier. Current projected closure is between 2025 and 2027.
Signage alerts entrants into the Klement Business Park on the city of Fort Atkinson’s south side. After approval was given by the city council Tuesday, the park will have a new marketing firm and approach. Ryan Whisner photo.
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