First Industrial Realty Trust Inc., a Chicago-based real estate investment trust (REIT), recently closed its Milwaukee area office.

First Industrial opened its Milwaukee office in 2004 and was active in southeastern Wisconsin purchasing several buildings and developing several others. The REIT's developments in southeastern Wisconsin include a 721,000-square-foot distribution center that is under construction in Kenosha for Affiliated Foods Midwest, a 600,000-square-foot facility for Rust-Oleum in Kenosha, and a 388,800-square-foot distribution center in Menomonee Falls for Quad/Graphics Inc.

But when the U.S. banking crisis hit in October, sending the stock market into a free fall, shares of First Industrial stock also plummeted. First Industrial's stock was trading for about $30 to $35 a share for the first half of the year and between $25 and $30 a share in September. Then in October the bottom fell out and the REIT's shares are now trading between $3 and $4 a share.

"With everything going on in the credit markets and all, all of the commercial REITS (stock) are just getting murdered," said Peter Ginn, who was the regional director for First Industrial's Milwaukee area office. "(First Industrial) is in a slash and cut mode."

Ginn, who grew First Industrial's southeastern Wisconsin portfolio from 7 building to 30 buildings, has been out of a job since Jan. 1.

First Industrial's chief executive officer, Michael Brennan, resigned in October and its chief financial officer resigned in December. A new CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide president Bruce Duncan, was hired in January.

In December First Industrial announced plans to reduce its regional office staffing. That included the elimination of the Milwaukee area office, originally located downtown in the Plaza East office complex but moved in August to 2925 S. 160th St. in New Berlin, and its office in Rosemont, Ill., Ginn said. All Chicago area and Milwaukee area operations are now being handled in the REIT's downtown Chicago office.

Milwaukee-based Marcus Corp. announced Tuesday that it will immediately begin "major renovations" at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center hotel in downtown Milwaukee and at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva. The total cost for the two projects is about $30 million.

The renovations at the downtown Hilton Milwaukee City Center will begin with guestroom and lobby remodeling. Renovations to the hotel's 730 rooms will include the addition of high definition LCD televisions, new bedding, carpeting, furniture and artwork.

Other renovations will include new tile flooring and furnishings for the hotel's Fifth Street lobby level entrance.

The next phase of the Hilton renovation, to begin later this year, will include upgrades to other areas of the hotel, including the meeting rooms, lobby areas, restaurants, gift shop and exterior elements.

At the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, renovations to the exterior pool and WELL Spa are under way. In addition, all 355 guestrooms will receive new carpeting, drapery, bedding and furniture. Bathrooms will be remodeled with new fixtures, vanities, marble flooring, lighting, wet bar renovations and mirrors with built-in televisions that disappear when they are turned off. Other renovations at the Grand Geneva will include new artwork, lighting and additional furniture upgrades to all of the guest rooms. The bathrooms in the resort's 20 Newport Suites and Newport Executive Suites will be reconfigured.

"Maintaining our assets has always been a top priority for Marcus Hotels and Resorts," said Bill Otto, president of Marcus Hotels and Resorts. "Despite lower occupancy due to the downturn in the travel industry, we are continuing to invest in enhancing and remodeling our existing properties so they will remain well-positioned for the future. By beginning these renovations immediately, we will be able to provide a significantly enhanced experience for our guests in time for our upcoming peak summer season. We believe our guests will be very pleased with the new look and amenities in both of these exceptional properties."

The Milwaukee Common Council recently approved $920,750 in Housing Trust Fund grants that will be used for nine projects that will create 133 units of affordable housing.

The projects receiving funding include: Bishop's Creek Family Housing rental housing for low-income residents, $250,000; Dominican Center for Women Inc., owner-occupied housing rehabilitation, $147,000; Milwaukee Christian Center, housing rehabilitation, multiple-locations, $126,000; Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, housing rehabilitation, $100,000; MLK Economic Development Corp., construction of rental units for low-income families, $100,000; United Community Center, new residential substance abuse treatment facility for men, $75,000; Rebuilding Together Greater Milwaukee, owner-occupied housing rehabilitation, $75,000; Milwaukee Community Service Corps, energy improvements, $33,200; Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, renovation project, $14,000.

In his "state of the county" address this week, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker proposed selling the county's land in the Park East corridor to the city of Milwaukee.

"One of the biggest and most visible tracts of land that is ripe for development is the Park East Corridor," Walker said. "To jump start work on this area, I propose selling all of the Park East county land to the City of Milwaukee. City officials have the tools necessary for a large-scale project and they need the flexibility to attract a wide range of interests."

Five years after the Park East Freeway was torn down to free up land for development, there is still no development occurring on any of the land owned by Milwaukee County in the Park East corridor.

Development of the county-owned land is subject to higher standards to ensure that the projects create community benefits. The Milwaukee County Board adopted those standards, called the Park East Redevelopment Compact (PERC), for reviewing developments on the county-owned land in the Park East corridor. The PERC requires developers to pay union-scale wages for construction projects on the county land. In addition, the PERC indicates that developers that hire local employees, provide job training or create green space would be more likely to be selected.

However, developers criticized the PERC, saying it would discourage development. The Milwaukee Common Council rejected a proposal similar to the PERC.

In his state of the county address, Walker said the PERC should be repealed by the County Board.

Walker made two other real estate related proposals in his state of the county address:

He called on the County Board to approve a proposal to provide land on the County Grounds in Wauwatosa for a new University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Walker also said the County Board should approve his plan to move the mental health complex to the site of the former St. Michael Hospital at 2400 W. Villard Ave., Milwaukee.

Zeon Solutions Inc. recently purchased an 8,558-square-foot office condo at 311 E. Chicago St. in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward from Hawley Strigenz Development and Weas Development for $1,283,700. Zeon is relocating to the Third Ward building from their current location on Innovation Drive in the Milwaukee County Research Park. Other purchasers of office condos in the building include Bob Kraft of PSA North America, David Baum of Schroeder & Holt Architects, Doug Weas of Weas Development, Charles Gabaldon of Gabaldon Properties, Robert Schmidt of Boulder Venture, Tyler Hawley and Kyle Strigenz of Hawley Strigenz Development and The Matrix Group. Zeon Solutions was represented by Michael Streit and Paul Galbraith of Grubb & Ellis/Apex Commercial in brokering the purchase.

Wauwatosa-based Selzer-Ornst Company recently completed a 24,000-square-foot office space remodeling project for Liberty Mutual's Pewaukee offices, and also recently completed a renovation and remodeling project for the True Process office suite in Glendale. Selzer-Ornst was also selected to remodel the office for Arts at Large.

Brookfield-based Briohn Building Corp. recently completed the design and construction of a 9,110-square-foot shell building and tenant improvement for Park Bank in the Brookfield Market Place at 14870 W. Greenfield Ave., Brookfield. In addition, Briohn has been contracted to design and build a 13,100-square-foot interior tenant improvement for Bracemasters International LLC at 5075 S. Emmer Dr., New Berlin.

New Berlin-based Anderson-Ashton Inc. was awarded a contract to design and build a 14,400-square-foot warehouse addition for American Bolt Co. at 16555 W. Glendale Dr., New Berlin.

Company: Sunset Investors and EZ Self Storage

Title: Owner

Education: BS from MSOE in architectural engineering, MS in civil engineering from Marquette. Registered professional engineer.

City of Residence: Greendale

Family: Wife, Diane; two daughters, Lisa Severson and Jill Riefel, and three grandchildren ages 2, 5 and 6.

Hobbies and Interests: "I enjoy doing things with the grandkids. The last couple years we have managed to get everyone to our house in Minocqua at the same time and gotten out boating and fishing. For myself, I like my big boy toys. I have a 1929 Ford Model A Street Rod that was at one time in the World of Wheels show, and I am still finishing up a 400+ hp 1950 Chevy Coupe. For toys, my motto is the more chrome and horsepower the better."

What are you working on? "I have purchased a couple of smaller commercial mixed use buildings that required extensive renovations, including another one this week that is being added to my EZ Self Storage facility in Franklin. Earlier projects I developed were mainly new construction condominiums. Lately, the majority of my projects have been renovations. I have four of these under way right now. The largest is the renovation of the Pritzlaff Building in the Third Ward (www.pritzlaffbldg.com). That is a collection of 5 buildings dating back as far as 1875, which at 265,000 square feet covers almost a full block. The first of the new commercial tenants have now moved in, and I hope to get the residential portion of the project going yet this year."

How does the market look to you? "Even though the real estate market is down, there are still some deals that get done. There is pent up demand with a lot of residential and commercial buyers and tenants waiting for a more stable economy. I think that we are near the bottom now, and by the later part of 2009, the low interest rates will start an upturn." 

What is the best deal you have ever been involved in? "Probably one of my diversifications from the real estate business. Ten years ago, my brother Tim and I purchased Coating Place, Inc, in Verona, a fluid bed coating company for pharmaceutical, and specialty chemical applications. It was originally a WARF spinoff from the UW School of Pharmacy. Tim manages that business along with my two other brothers Tom and Terry. We have increased sales to four times what they were, and increased employment from 30 to 100. We have also developed and patented some very promising extended release liquid suspension drug delivery systems that should substantially contribute to business growth in the near future."

What is the funniest moment in your career? "I conduct lien sales for the miniwarehouses. I once was selling a tenant’s storage unit, and he wanted to buy his property back at a discount at the sale. So he shaved off all of his hair, put on a disguise that made him look 50 pounds heavier, and spoke in a heavy accent. Then he tried to convince everyone at the sale that the contents were all useless junk so he could buy it."

Brookfield-based Shorewest Realtors recently added several new sales associates including: David Kucharski and Laura Richard Marshall in the Wauwatosa office, Nicole Morn in the Oak Creek office, Karen Jensen in the downtown Milwaukee office, Sindy Howell-Stewart in the Kenosha office, Sharon Sequin, Barbara Pagliarini, Angie Olson and Natalie Bell in the Lake Geneva office, Alex Roelli and Jackie Voit in the New Berlin office, Margaret DeRocha Blank in the Racine office and Nancy Maldonado in the National Avenue office.

Milwaukee-based Kahler Slater recently received four awards at the American Society of Interior Design - Wisconsin Chapter competition. The architectural firm received a Gold Award in the Health Care/Medical category for facilities larger than 50,000 square feet for its work on Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital, a replacement hospital with an integrated 50-physician clinic on a new rural campus in Grand Rapids, Minn. The firm was also honored with two Silver Awards in the Recreation/Hospitality category - one for the country’s first Bimbamboo Restaurant, an Asian-influenced casual dining restaurant in Boulder, Colo., and the second for the Fratellos Waterfront Restaurant in Milwaukee. The fourth award was a Bronze Award in the Medium-size Office/Corporate category for Kahler Slater’s design of its own new office space in Madison.

CARW Rookie Series monthly business development luncheon, Feb. 23, 12 noon-2 p.m., CARW conference room, 12300 W. Center St., Wauwatosa. For more information, call (414) 271-2021.

REACH Winter Gala 2009, The Big Chill, Saturday, Feb. 28, 7:30-10:30 p.m., The Eisner Museum, 208 N. Water St., Milwaukee. For more information, call (414) 271-2021.