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 This Week - Notes - Search - Index - Share 
Ralph Kamps
Editor CirexNews
608.345.2880
Ken Harwood Publisher CirexNews
608.334.2174 "Simple and easy are not the same
thing."
— Naval RavikantNew Listing
2,700 square feet of flex space featuring a conference room, (2) kitchenettes, (2) private restrooms. 1,350 sf of open concept office and 1,350 sf warehouse space. 10'x12' drive in door.
Established hospitality and entertainment venue featuring vintage bowling lanes, full-service bar, outdoor patio, and event-oriented gathering spaces. Longstanding community destination with opportunities for continued operation, expansion, and creative repositioning.
...Full Story Here
Cirex News is emailed weekly to over 2,000 CRE Brokers/Agents and people interested in commercial real estate. Email Ralph or call 608-345-2880 to feature your business or properties in CirexNews...
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 Thank you to everyone who joined CARW and CCIM Wisconsin for our First Annual Madison Market Update at the Park Hotel in Madison. Nearly 150 commercial real estate professionals attended
this inaugural event... - Madison/Dane County continues to attract investors from across the country, including Hawaii, Colorado, Florida, and California.
- Strong fundamentals—including population growth, income levels, and
limited supply in several sectors—continue to support the market.
- Higher interest rates, construction costs, and capital market
pressures are influencing development decisions and encouraging the
repositioning of older properties.
Multifamily...
Industrial...
Office...
Retail...
Bottom Line
Madison continues to distinguish itself as
one of the Midwest’s strongest commercial real estate markets....
RSK: In case you missed CARW's Madison CRE Market Update Seminar here it is in PowerPoint style...
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 As the west side Glass Nickel Pizza
Co. plans to move to a new location in Middleton within the next year,
its current location — part of a collection of buildings in a triangular
space at University Avenue, North Whitney Way and Old Middleton Road — is pegged for redevelopment.
Galway Companies has plans to redevelop the area with about 500 apartments and commercial space, according to an article in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Galway Companies, a Monona developer,
presented its redevelopment plans to the city of Madison’s Urban Design
Commission on Wednesday.
Preliminary plans also call for 6,000 square feet of commercial space at the corner of University Avenue and Whitney Way... ...Full Story Here
RSK: That is a great location for apartments. Traffic control will be another matter.
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Working with local architects from Kahler Slater, Salt Lake City’s
Lotus Company is proposing to create two mixed-use buildings on the
Essen Haus site, bringing 198 apartments to downtown Madison, the
Wisconsin State Journal reported.
The company said the apartments would be aimed at service workers,
nurses and teachers and would be mainly one- and two-bedroom units. All
apartments for the East Wilson Street development would be open to
people earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income.
Lotus is pursuing low-income housing tax credits from the Wisconsin
Housing and Economic Development Authority for the more than $40 million
development.
Like the previous project proposed for the site, the plan would
preserve the Hotel Ruby Marie. It also calls for an alley between the
two apartment buildings, 120 parking stalls and about 6,000 square feet
of retail space, which could include a restaurant.
After earning the requisite city approvals, Lotus would break ground next summer and complete the project in 2029. ...Full Story Here
RSK: The fifth time? I am sure the city will find something wrong that if fixed would hurt the bottom line and make the project a no go.....hoping I am wrong on this.
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We offer the experience, quality and service you deserve, but with the personal attention and dedication that only a family business can provide. We’re not just your landlord, we’re partners in your success.
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 Some deals are measured in SF. The best ones are measured in what they bring to the community. I'm honored to be named a CoStar Power Broker Q2 2026 Quarterly Deals winner, recognizing the top retail leasing deal in the Milwaukee/Madison market: Sushi Lover at 7-9 W. Main St., Madison, WI. This one is special for a reason beyond the award. It's on the Capitol Square and it brings another vibrant restaurant to our downtown core. Rokuaji Asian Bistro will add energy to the block, create jobs, and give locals and visitors another reason to gather downtown. That's the artistry of retail brokerage: matching the right concept with the right space so both thrive. Awards recognize the closing. What they don't show are the tours, negotiations, creative problem-solving, and the relationships built along the way. That's the part I love most. Thank you to CoStar for the recognition, and congratulations to Rokuaji Asian Bistro on their new home. Madison, get ready! Here's to more great tenants finding their place in our downtown core. What new restaurant or retailer are you most excited to see open in your city?
See Also:
...Full Story Here
RSK: Congrats to one of our very own, Heather Ewing who received these national recognition awards.
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 Madison’s office market moved against the national trend during the second quarter. While many major U.S. office markets improved, Madison’s vacancy continued to increase. Overall vacancy increased to 16.3%, leasing activity slowed to 114,800 square feet across 48 transactions, and the market recorded 36,500 square feet of negative net absorption during the quarter. While many large cities are beginning to benefit from improving office utilization and slowing new construction, Madison continues to work through a combination of downsizing, tenant consolidations, and elevated suburban vacancy. The Big Picture- Overall vacancy increased to 16.3%
- Net absorption totaled (36,500 SF) during Q2
- Year-to-date absorption reached (56,300 SF)
- Downtown Class A vacancy remained relatively healthy at 10.6%
- Combined suburban Class A vacancy increased to 22.1%...
...Full Story Here
RSK: In case you missed it, here is Oakbrooks quarterly office report...
Ken Notes: Full report at the link...
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:no_upscale():quality(80)) Facing skyrocketing demand, the nation’s largest grid operator plans to
require new data centers to provide their own power or have their
service cut when the grid is strained.
PJM Interconnection, whose service area encompasses Washington, D.C., and 13 states in the mid-Atlantic and Midwest, has been scrambling to contend with an unprecedented, data center-driven wave of electricity demand that has threatened the grid’s stability and raised customer utility bills. Now, the grid operator is asking federal regulators to approve a new framework governing how data centers connect to the grid and acquire power.
Under the proposal, submitted Friday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, newly built data centers that don’t add capacity to the grid will have their power supply curtailed when the grid approaches dangerously low levels compared to demand...
...Full Story Here
RSK: More of this will be demanded of data centers.
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The Madison Office Lifestyle Portfolio consists of 13 Class A, amenity-rich office properties ranging in size from approximately 25,000 square feet to over 300,000 square feet and is home to more than 130 tenants. The portfolio is located on the west side of Madison and Middleton, with the majority of properties situated in the Far West submarket.
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 Developers are eyeing the site of a three-story office building near West Towne Mall for a major housing redevelopment, prompting concerns from residents and the area’s City Council representative.
RFA, a Canada-based firm, submitted preliminary plans this summer that would demolish the UW Health administrative office at 301 S. Westfield Road to make way for around 570 apartments across five new five-story buildings. The plans filed with Madison’s Urban Design Commission show two mixed-use buildings at the south end of the property, about a block north of Mineral Point Road, with a three-building residential complex toward the north end.
UW Health, which operates a clinic nearby, began leasing office space at the site in 2011. Its lease expires next August, and the healthcare provider no longer needs the space, spokesperson Emily Greendonner told the Cap Times...
...Full Story Here
RSK: Again, traffic control will be a concern here, but RFA has a major presence here in Greater Madison, so I am sure they want to be a good neighbor.
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 MADISON, Wis. — After years of planning and construction, Madison’s
new purpose-built men’s homeless shelter is just weeks away from opening
its doors. The facility at 1904 Bartillon Drive is scheduled to
open Sept. 1. The public got a first look inside Monday during an open
house, seeing the new sleeping areas, private spaces, kitchen and other
amenities designed for shelter guests. But
while the new $27 million facility is intended to provide a more
dignified and service-focused approach to homelessness, it will also
have significantly fewer beds than the current shelter on Zeier Road...
...Full Story Here
RSK: I hope they will use it and have some sort of mental health services there as well.
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 Political promises cannot erase rising catastrophe lossesProperty insurance prices are about to become a political flashpoint in
the 2026 midterms. The average US homeowner paid $2,948 a year for
coverage in 2025, a 12% jump from the year before. Zoom out further and
premiums have risen 46% since 2021. Severe convective storms racked up
an estimated $50 billion in insured US losses in 2025, the third
costliest year on record for that peril. The January 2025 Los Angeles
wildfires cost roughly $40 billion insured, the costliest wildfire event
on record. The US accounted for 83% of the world’s $107 billion in
insured catastrophe losses last year. These rising rates are amplified
in certain areas. Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota
logged the sharpest 2025 rate hikes..
...Full Story Here
RSK: If you own any commercial real estate....any real estate for that matter, you know the pain of ever-increasing insurance premiums. Hurting the bottom line.
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“At Investors Associated, we make it easy for brokers to match clients with well?managed, high?quality spaces. Our team prioritizes clear communication, quick turnaround times, and a seamless leasing experience. Partner with us to provide your clients with properties backed by dependable service and long?term value.”
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 Goldman is buying LCN for up to $410 millionGoldman Sachs is buying LCN Capital Partners for up to $410 million. LCN manages roughly $3 billion in assets and specializes in sale-leaseback transactions. In a sale-leaseback, an investor buys a property from a company and leases it back to the original owner. The tenant pays rent and typically covers taxes, insurance, and maintenance. Goldman will pay $260 million upfront with another $150 million contingent on performance. Roughly 80% of the total consideration will be paid in stock. The deal closes by year end. It’s Goldman’s second acquisition in a week and its third major real estate investment platform acquisition in months.
Sale-leasebacks are becoming a core asset class for institutional investors. The model offers predictable cash flow through long-term leases with creditworthy corporate tenants. It combines property ownership with corporate credit exposure. Investors get returns from both real estate appreciation and stable lease payments. For corporate sellers, sale-leasebacks unlock capital tied up in real estate without losing operational control of their facilities. The transaction lets companies monetize owned properties while maintaining occupancy and avoiding disruption. That mutual benefit is driving growth... ...Full Story Here
RSK: Sale lease backs are an important integral part of investment real estate. Will be seeing more of this if interest rates remain at their current levels. Usually a win-win.
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 ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. office vacancy is expected to remain steady through 2026 before beginning a gradual decline, according to a revised forecast from CoStar, the leading global provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the property markets. National office vacancy continued to retreat in the second quarter of 2026, dropping slightly below 14% and shifting 30 basis points below its mid-2025 record peak. Between July 2025 and June 2026, office suppliers occupied 17 million square feet of net new space, which was only the second sustained period of positive net absorption since 2020. Net absorption is expected to be 13 million square feet in 2026 and five million square feet in 2027, a downgrade from the previous forecast, which anticipated annual net absorption of 17 million square feet and six million square feet, respectively... ...Full Story Here
RSK: Again a bit of good news. Seems Ai is taking some jobs away, but companies are looking for more space per individual. Will that trend continue?
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CBRE’s 2026 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey reflects a market that has found its footing.
Occupiers are making deliberate choices about the quantity, quality
and location of their space. The gap between aspiration and action is
narrowing, and the survey findings show where it’s closing the
fastest—and where it’s not.
...Full Story Here
RSK: Almost 90% of employers requiring workers to be in the office at least 3 days per week. Guess which 2 they are not?
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Need to sublet extra office space?
Let our years of experience help you find relief
from this excess space and help your bottom line"
Call Ralph Kamps 608-345-2880
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 As top-tier space grows scarce, some tenants opt for new developmentWhen Sidley Austin began searching for a new Chicago headquarters,
the global law firm discovered a surprising problem: There weren't many
places left to go. The firm wanted hundreds of thousands of square
feet, direct access to public transit and the kind of amenities needed
to attract more than 1,500 employees back to the office. After an
extensive search, it concluded that the best option wasn't moving into
an existing office tower but helping launch a new one. "It can be
challenging to find the kind of space we want and as much space as we
need," Brian Fahrney, a Sidley partner and chairman, told CoStar News.
"Chicago is one of our largest markets, and even after we did a thorough
search, we found limited options. We could move to an existing building
or stay where we are, but both would have meant a lot of work. So, we
concluded that the solution for us was to build a new building."...
RSK: New and highly amenitized office buildings are in high demand with little to choose from. This has spurned new construction of high end office buildings with location, access and amenities to attract and keep employees. Definitely a huge gap between high end trophy office building demand and the lower tier.
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 Sample Gates Management, a student-run
real estate investment fund at Indiana University’s Kelley School of
Business, manages approximately $12 million in equity across apartment
developments and industrial parks nationwide. Twenty undergraduates
selected from a competitive commercial real estate workshop raise
capital from third-party investors and execute deals independently. This
summer, the fund sold its first investment—an industrial warehouse in
Indianapolis—for a 65% gross profit in roughly 16 months. A board of 10
seasoned real estate executives must approve all investments, rejecting
about one-third of student-proposed deals.
At least 18 student-managed real estate
funds now operate across U.S. universities, up from just a few a decade
ago, with two more launching this school year. Sample Gates raised $4.2
million from 46 investors in its first 2022 fundraising round and $7.8
million from 74 investors in 2023, with one investor contributing
$700,000. Students screen three to eight deals weekly—up to 400
annually—but selected only 12 investments between 2023 and 2025,
spanning locations from Indiana to Arizona. The group requires physical
site visits for every potential acquisition regardless of location... ...Full Story Here
RSK: I believe UW has a similar venture. Someone correct me if I am wrong.
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 Wayfair Inc. has added another state to its growing brick-and-mortar footprint. The digitally-native home furnishings giant will open its first store in Pennsylvania, in Pittsburgh, Expected to open in 2027, the 95,000-sq.-ft. store will be located at North Hills Village, a regional shopping center right outside of the city’s downtown. The single-level space will showcase a curated selection of Wayfair products organized by room and style, with many items available to take home the same day, while larger purchases can be delivered as fast as two days. The space will also feature an on-site design studio where customers can work directly with Wayfair design consultants...
...Full Story Here
RSK: If you have a vacant retail space or one coming up and are willing to let Wayfair remodel, I would certainly get on their list for expansion.
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Since 1971, St. John Properties has designed, developed, and managed spaces that fit every type of business. Our team anticipates and serves the needs of over 2,700 clients, including small, mid-sized, and large companies, nationwide.
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:no_upscale():quality(80)) In the weeks since the country's largest office-to-residential conversion project was deemed at risk of collapsing, scrutiny of these complex projects, which have soared in popularity since the pandemic, has intensified. Three other buildings have been hit with stop-work orders following an inspection blitz carried out by officials in New York City, which has more conversion projects under construction than anywhere else. But in the other U.S. cities where this style of adaptive reuse has taken off, there is little sign that city officials are hitting the panic button...
...Full Story Here
RSK: I do not think much will slow down until there is actually a major mishap and people get hurt. It was a definite wake up call.
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 Lease abstraction was one of the first real estate workflows that AI touched in a meaningful way, and for good reason. Lease abstraction is by far the largest use case of AI in real estate. In a recent survey, it was reported as being used by 66% of respondents, 20 points more than any other application. The task of reading a commercial lease and pulling out the key economic and operational terms is exactly the kind of repetitive, document-heavy work that AI handles well. For a portfolio of dozens of leases, abstraction by hand is time-consuming but manageable. For a portfolio of hundreds, it is a genuine operational constraint. AI removed that constraint, and the industry moved quickly to adopt it. What is happening now is more ambitious. Organizations are looking past AI-assisted abstraction at the real value that lies in what happens after the important information has been pulled from the document. The challenge for many real estate organizations is not a shortage of AI opportunities. It is an excess of them...
...Full Story Here
RSK: I have used AI to decipher leases for some time now. Works well. Also works well for medical reports on imaging which is full of Rx jargon.
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 Mid-summer sales events and early back-to-school deals gave a boost to retail sales in July, which rose for the 10th consecutive month. Core retail sales (excluding restaurants, auto dealers and gas stations) inched up 0.3% month over month in July and were 4.72% year over year, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor released by the National Retail Federation. That compared with increases of 0.36% month over month and 10.08% year over year in June. Retail sales gains in July were led by digital products, such as electronic books and games. Sales declined in four categories: electronics and appliance stores; furniture and home furnishings stores; building and garden supply stores; and sporting goods; and hobby, music and book stores. ...Full Story Here
RSK: Good news for your retail clients. Should be up again next month as back to school sales come rolling in.
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 CARW Deal of the Year Awards and Annual Meeting
October 28 @ 4:00 pm - 7:30 pm
The Deal of the Year Awards & Annual Meeting recognizes the most notable commercial real estate professionals and transactions in Wisconsin. The awards event was created to highlight accomplished CARW REALTOR® members who have displayed exceptional achievement in sale and/or lease transactions.
Submission categories include; Office, Industrial, Retail, Investment, Development, and more! Deals must have been completed between August 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026.
...Full Story Here
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 The multifamily industry spends an enormous amount of energy on renewals, and most of that energy gets deployed in the last quarter of a lease term. Renewal offers go out 90 to 120 days before expiration. Pre-renewal surveys get fielded. Retention teams start making calls. By that point, in a significant share of cases, the decision has already been made. Most controllable churn decisions form within the first 90 days of a tenancy, which makes move-in the most underutilized retention window in multifamily operations, and one that most operators treat as a logistical process rather than a strategic one. The economics of getting this wrong are substantial. The average cost to turn a single apartment unit is $3,872 when accounting for make-ready expenses, vacancy loss, leasing commissions, advertising, and concessions, according to aggregated operator data across more than 50,000 units. The National Apartment Association puts turnover costs closer to $4,000 per unit, and RealPage data indicates apartment turnover costs have more than doubled since 2020...
...Full Story Here
RSK: One of the few problems with this is it is hard to get to all the requests in the 90 day period.
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With over 350 experienced real estate professionals, Knight Barry provides exceptional support and service. Visit our website for more information about our 50+ commercial and residential offices throughout
Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota.
MADISON: 2450 Rimrock Road, Suite 204, 608-255-2700
CAP SQUARE: 44 E. Mifflin Street, Suite 101, 608-255-2700
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 The Federal Reserve’s decision last week to hold its benchmark rate
steady landed largely as expected by the market. Long-term Treasury
yields moved higher following the decision, a signal that bond markets
remain concerned about long-term inflation and the credibility of the
Fed’s response even as the policy rate itself held. For commercial real
estate borrowers, the hold provides a degree of near-term certainty
about the cost of floating-rate capital, but the broader lending
environment is considerably more nuanced than any single Fed decision
can capture. The market is opening up in meaningful ways and the current
environment offers more options than the past two years have allowed.
The window, however, is not unlimited, and the selectivity that
characterizes each lending channel means that execution requires more
precision than it did during the easier money years... ...Full Story Here
RSK: Just because the Feds held rates steady doesn't mean there are not other means of CRE financing...especially for multi-family.
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 A stretch of Milwaukee Street on Madison’s east side is set for a significant redesign to increase traffic safety. With growth anticipated along the major east-west corridor, the city’s Transportation Commission unanimously approved a new layout for Milwaukee Street between Starkweather Creek and West Corporate Drive at a meeting this month. Planned
work will include medians throughout the segment and a new shared-use
path on the north side of the street from Walter Street to West
Corporate Drive. The project will include a bike lane on the south side
of Milwaukee Street, several raised intersections, wider terrace spaces,
parking on the north side of the street, and replacement of underground
water and sewer infrastructure...
...Full Story Here
RSK: This is only the beginning of the development on this parcel. The street improvement will be welcomed.
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Riverwood Apartments, a fully occupied 32-unit multifamily community
in Mauston, has been sold to Tripp & Associates, a Janesville
property management and real estate company, for $3.95 million.
CBRE Group, a commercial real estate services and investment firm,
represented the seller, Riverwood Apartments LLC, in the transaction.
“Mauston has proven to be a compelling market for multifamily
investment,” said Sean Beuche, a vice president in CBRE’s Milwaukee
office. “The growing employment base includes full-service healthcare,
manufacturers expanding their operations and significant regional
tourism drawn from Wisconsin Dells, which is just 23 minutes away.” ...Full Story Here
RSK: Well done.
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With the largest Real Estate Practice of any law firm in Wisconsin, Reinhart offers clients custom-tailored real estate insight.
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 A new generation of live-learn-work
innovation hubs is redefining how higher education institutions support
learning, creativity, and community.Higher education institutions face compounding pressures: declining
enrollment, rising costs, and growing expectations to demonstrate
real-world impact. Cities, meanwhile, grapple with housing shortages,
economic inequality, and the need to revitalize underutilized areas. A
new typology is beginning to emerge that offers a strategic response to
both challenges: live-learn-work innovation hubs. By integrating
housing, research, and workspaces into a single, shared environment,
these 24-hour ecosystems bring researchers, creators, and entrepreneurs
together to fuel innovation around the clock.
Initially focused on bridging academia and industry, innovation hubs
have evolved into dynamic ecosystems. Today, they serve as microcosms of
broader innovation districts, often embedded within cities and designed
to foster serendipitous encounters, interdisciplinary exchange, and
real-world impact...
RSK: I am glad UW hasn't moved into this type of living experiment....I know it would not be for me.
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 Introduction The H1 2026 Cap Rate Survey provides a fresh perspective of where market sentiment is trending. Welcome to CBRE’s H1 2026 Cap Rate Survey (CRS). This survey comes at a time when uncertainty around interest rates could slow commercial real estate investment activity. The data behind this report was informed by deals that closed during the first six months of 2026. While market conditions are fluid, we believe that the CRS provides important insights about how investor sentiment is changing. The CRS generates key insights from 3,600 cap rate estimates across more than 50 U.S. markets...
...Full Story Here
RSK: Very good Cap Rate Survey with graphics. Worth a look.
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 As a social worker, Scott Steenbergh never seemed to be able to clock out. "The
hours were always tough," the Michigan-based investor and father of two
told Business Insider. "It seemed like, no matter what, I was always
required to work in the evenings, work on weekends. People were
obviously in crisis, and I want to help, but I also wanted to be able to
be present with my kids." Real estate investing seemed like a possible path to more time freedom... Scott Steenbergh turned sober-living rentals into a high-cash-flow real-estate niche.
He says the properties can produce cash-on-cash returns of 50% to 75%.
Real-estate income now covers his family's lifestyle and gives him more control of his time. ...Full Story Here
RSK: Nice little niche, but it takes a lot more hands-on management.
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  Colliers| Wisconsin offers clients in the Wisconsin market, expertise in every property type. Wisconsin’s Colliers office offers a comprehensive portfolio of real estate services to occupiers, owners and investors on a local, regional, national and international basis, including: Brokerage Services, Corporate Solutions, Property Management and Valuation & Advisory Services. Colliers is the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world, with over 12,300 professionals operating out of more than 522 offices in 62 countries.
...Full Story Here
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 For the first time since the pandemic upended the office sector, the
leasing data no longer needs an asterisk. According to Savills’ newly
released State of the U.S. Office Market report,
occupiers leased 127.3 million square feet of office space in the first
half of 2026, the strongest first-half total since 2019 and 13 percent
ahead of last year. The second quarter alone accounted for 66.1 million
square feet, which Savills notes was “the strongest quarter on record
since Q2 2019.” Perhaps more telling, that figure ran about 9 percent
above the average quarterly pace set between 2017 and 2019, meaning
demand is not just recovering toward pre-pandemic norms, it is exceeding
them...
...Full Story Here
RSK: More good news for the slowly improving office sector.
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 A recent Nareit commentary noted that fundamentals across the four traditional property types continued to show positive momentum and signs of stabilization, but occupancy rates remained mostly flat and rent growth struggled to match inflation. A closer look at CoStar data further highlights the differences in supply-demand dynamics across sectors. As of the second quarter of 2026, apartments, industrial, and retail were at or near equilibrium, while office demand outstripped supply for the fourth straight quarter.
Office has faced a persistent supply-demand imbalance since 2019, but restrained development and stronger demand have pushed excess net demand into positive territory for four consecutive quarters. In the second quarter of 2026, occupancy stood at 86.1% and the four-quarter rental gain was 1.8%. According to Nareit’s Actively Managed Real Estate Fund Tracker, office was the only sector of the four traditional property types with an overweight relative to its index weight in the first quarter of 2026...
...Full Story Here
RSK: Another very good depiction of net supply and demand for the 4 CRE sectors.
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 Renters in New York are paying brokers
thousands of dollars for access to apartment listings that never appear
on public platforms, a practice that emerged after the city banned
landlords from passing broker fees to tenants in June 2025. Under the
Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act, the share of renters paying
broker fees dropped from 31% to 15%, but publicly available inventory
has fallen every month since the law took effect, including a 31% drop
in June compared to the prior year. Brokers now charge one to two
months’ rent upfront to show renters off-market units, effectively
creating a two-tier rental market.
Apartment inventory typically rises 5.9%
in June during New York’s busy rental season, but this year it declined
sharply as landlords pulled units from listing sites.... ...Full Story Here
RSK: This is what happens when government intercepts the free market.
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Park Towne is a family run Madison-based real estate company serving southern Wisconsin for over 50 years. Led by second generation brothers Mike, Jim and Joe Ring, Park Towne has a portfolio of for-lease commercial properties and offers development, management and brokerage services.
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 Tesla and SpaceX confirmed Thursday they will build Terafab, a
semiconductor megafactory in Grimes County, Texas, with a first-phase
investment of $16.8 billion. Once complete, the complex is planned to
exceed 100 million square feet, more than five times the size of China’s
New Century Global Center and larger than the Pentagon, Apple Park and
Mall of America combined. Elon Musk, who runs both companies, described
it as “the largest and most valuable building on Earth by far.” Intel
confirmed it will contribute to the project, though details of its
involvement remain undisclosed...
Tesla said both companies need more chips than current and future global
production can supply, with a goal of producing over one terawatt of
compute annually. The facility will handle logic chips, memory,
packaging and testing in a single structure. Chips manufactured there
will power Tesla’s Optimus robots and Cybercabs, as well as SpaceX’s
planned space-based data centers. The project is expected to create at
least 3,000 jobs, with 60 to 80 percent of hires expected to come from
Grimes and neighboring Brazos County...
...Full Story Here
RSK: That is one large building.
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If you’ve ever meandered through downtown Milwaukee, especially Wisconsin Avenue, you probably have seen a big blue office tower that stands out from the rest. The 14-story building, at 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., has been underused for some time, and now the city of Milwaukee plans to help finance its transformation into an apartment building with 220 units. Those redevelopment plans — a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments — have received initial approval, according to an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel...
...Full Story Here
RSK: Good reuse development of an iconic Milwaukee office tower. Waiting for Madison to do such. Maybe the old GEF buildings...
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 The extended stay category has long been considered the darling of the hotel industry. Now, a rapidly expanding demand opportunity for the category is adding fuel to a fire that hospitality players thought was burning strong on its own. That fuel is data center projects, which have cropped up across Texas, Virginia and Georgia over the last decade, and more recently have rapidly expanded into new and emerging U.S. markets. As a form of infrastructure development, data center projects are driving notable extended stay demand nationwide, hospitality industry professionals shared. However, the projects’ lack of permanent workforce also raises questions about the sustainability of that demand... ...Full Story Here
RSK: Beware, much like gold rush days where boom towns showed up and faltered after the rush was gone.
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 Preparing for January 1:
Understanding the 2027 Practice Changes
Thursday, October 29, 2026
(2:30 PM - 4:00 PM) (CDT)
DescriptionJanuary 1, 2027, brings significant changes to Wisconsin real estate practice. Join WRA attorneys Cori Lamont and Jennifer Lindsley for an overview of the new statutory requirements created by 2025 Wisconsin Act 69 and the final REEB-approved WB forms implementing those changes. The program will review the new public marketing requirements, changes to seller-paid compensation, and technology-enhanced advertising rules, while highlighting the revisions to the listing contracts, buyer agency agreement, offers to purchase, and public marketing opt-out agreement. Whether you're looking for a refresher or preparing for implementation, this session will help you understand what changes on January 1 and what it means for your practice...
...Full Story Here
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 The industry is balancing huge growth with continuing public skepticism.As pushback against the development of data centers intensifies across the country, the industry is seeing unprecedented growth driven by hyperscalers, neoclouds and artificial intelligence companies, with demand doubling year over year, according to JLL’s North American Data Center Report for the first half of 2026.
Absorption for the first part of 2026 reached an all-time high with 25 gigawatts of absorption, double the level from a year ago and five times higher than 2024. Vacancy remained at 1 percent for the third consecutive year despite unprecedented construction activity. North America has 66 gigawatts under construction, with 95 percent of that pre-committed.
“It’s great numbers across all dimensions,” Sean Farney, vice president for data center strategy at JLL, told Commercial Property Executive of the report. “It just shows the strength and resilience of the segment.”... ...Full Story Here
RSK: There is a lot of money in Ai data centers. So both sides will eventually come together if there is transparency.
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 Chicago’s industrial market had a strong first half of 2026, with big-box tenants helping to deliver one of the best leasing quarters in years. Industrial net absorption hit 6.1M SF in Q2, over five times the first quarter and more than eight times the total from a year earlier, according to CBRE. The positive absorption was the strongest quarter for the Chicago area since the high mark of 6.9M SF in the second quarter of 2023. “Developers and owners who have a prescient view of the industrial market either have sites tied up or have some planned spec product,” CBRE Executive Vice President David Prell said. “That's kind of across the board of all different sizes, and in particular the bulk product.”...
...Full Story Here
RSK: Good news for our neighbors to the south. Data centers are having an effect on the price of land as well as leasing space.
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 This is the fourth time that Easton Town Center has headed Chain Store Age’s
"Top 10 Retail Center Experiences” list since it debuted in 2018, and
the first sentence on the center’s 2026 nomination form deftly summed up
why... Easton stands alone because of its willingness to continuously reinvent itself. - In
2022, Steiner + Associates — co-developer and property manager —
created a luxury district..
- Instead
of seeking another single user for Easton’s Smith & Wollensky
footprint, Steiner transformed the space into multiple storefronts..
- When
consumer habits shifted away from experimental retail concepts like
Amazon Style, Steiner quickly reclaimed the footprint ...
- Five
years ago, Easton added a 16-acre project phase providing 140,000
square feet of new restaurant, retail and hotel space...
New builds and store buildouts happen quickly at Easton because Steiner fields its own seven-employee construction unit. ... ...Full Story Here
RSK: The 10 best retail experiences in the US. Of course Mall of America is in the ranks.
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 More details have come to light in the power struggle on a high-profile Boston commercial real estate brokerage team that has now led to two top producers leaving Newmark.
Boston Capital Markets brokers Matthew Pullen and Edward "Woody" Maher Jr. have parted ways with the firm after filing a lawsuit against Newmark and their boss, Rob Griffin, in May, according to an Aug. 3 filing from their attorney, Ellen Zucker.
The brokers left their roles July 13 but did not resign voluntarily, Zucker wrote in the filing.
...Full Story Here
RSK: Stop whining and go ahead with the law suit. In the meantime, the two of you should start your own company if you have all those connections with owners and buyers.
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 AI infrastructure is a “key pillar of demand”Data centers will continue their momentum in the US commercial real
estate market, despite restrained construction activity in most other
sectors, a new report from CBRE has said. According to the commercial real estate services firm’s 2026 US Real Estate Outlook Midyear Review report,
the US market should hold its ground and in some cases improve in the
second half of the year, despite tremors from conflicts in the Middle
East driving high energy prices. The report
is an update on CBRE’s January forecast, a response to economic shifts
and geopolitical issues that have impacted the US commercial real estate
market. Despite these challenges, the
ongoing buildout of AI infrastructure is a “key pillar of demand” for
the market, keeping it “resilient.”...
RSK: This may be the case now, but if states keep putting moratoriums on data center construction, this will slowly dry up. The upcoming mid term elections will have a lot to do with it.
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 Food Fight Gift Cards...
Food Fight is a locally owned and operated restaurant group with an ever-growing family of unique and diverse restaurants in the greater Madison area. Founded in 1994 by Monty Schiro of Monty’s Blue Plate Diner and local real estate investor Peder Moren, Food Fight Restaurant Group combined their creative vision and business sense with a mission of providing the best possible service and experiences for the greater community.
 Gift cards can be redeemed at all of our restaurants for dine-in visits or call-in carryout orders, and they never expire...
...Full Story Here
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 Few functions in a commercial real estate organization are as consequential or as manually intensive as property tax management. For a large portfolio owner, property taxes represent one of the largest recurring operating expenses across the portfolio, governed by a patchwork of thousands of different jurisdictions, each with its own assessment methodologies, filing deadlines, appeal windows, and payment requirements. The consequences of getting it wrong range from late fees and interest to significant penalties and, in the most serious cases, liens that cloud title and complicate future transactions. And yet, for many commercial real estate organizations, the process of tracking, planning, and paying property taxes remains a heavily manual, largely reactive exercise built on spreadsheets, calendar reminders, and institutional knowledge that walks out the door when the people who hold it move on. That is beginning to change, driven by purpose-built tax management platforms, better-connected property data, automated reporting, and a growing recognition within real estate organizations that the tax function is exactly the kind of high-volume, high-stakes workflow technology that is well positioned to improve...
...Full Story Here
RSK: With Ai you can and should be able to track sales of similar commercial properties and appeal your tax assessment if necessary.
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 Artificial intelligence is working its way into
planning and execution software, but many companies are still figuring
out where it works, where it doesn’t and how far they’re ready to take
itTake a quick look around the business environment right now and you probably won't find a single nook or cranny where artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t being applied or at least tested out. From software that summarizes meetings to systems that analyze customer behavior and tools that automate routine office tasks, the race to use AI to work faster with fewer manual steps is very much underway.
Supply chain management (SCM) sits squarely in the middle of these conversations. Supply chain planning (SCP) platforms use AI to help companies forecast demand, balance inventory and plan capacity. Supply chain execution (SCE) applications like warehouse management systems (WMS) and transportation management systems (TMS) manage the day-to-day physical flow of goods, labor and assets.
These are natural places for AI to step in...
...Full Story Here
RSK: Interesting article.
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 New York City's 394,300 tech talent jobs edged out the San Francisco Bay
Area's 375,730, the first time NY has led in 13 years of CBRE analysisNew York City has surpassed the San Francisco Bay Area
as the largest tech talent market by headcount in the U.S., according
to CBRE's 13th annual Scoring Tech Talent report. New York's 394,300
tech talent jobs surpassed San Francisco's 375,730 — a milestone that
marks the first time New York has claimed the top position in the
history of CBRE's analysis.
The shift reflects two forces working in opposite directions: layoffs of
non-AI tech workers in the Bay Area, and strong AI and finance-driven
hiring in New York. "The story there is that there's been cuts in the
Bay Area, so the tech industry has contracted the size of the tech
talent workforce, and the finance sector [in New York] has hired a lot
of tech talent and a lot of AI workers," Colin Yasukochi, who serves as
executive director of CBRE's Tech Insights Center in San Francisco, told
CNBC...
...Full Story Here
RSK: This is one of the reasons NYC is experiencing an uptick in office leasing.
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The Gialamas Company, Inc.
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RFA Asset Management Madison, WI
 | Key Commercial Real Estate, LLC
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Madison Commercial Real Estate LLC
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St. John Properties
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IA Management, LLC
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Wisconsin Commercial Real Estate
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Park Towne Realty LLC
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Mullins Group, LLC
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Flad Development & Investment Corp.
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Evans Properties, LLC
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Keller Real Estate Group
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MIG Commercial Real Estate, LLC
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First Weber Group, Inc - West Towne
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Opitz Realty, Inc.
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First Weber Group, Inc - Prairie Du Sac
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Peterson Management Company Inc.
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The Lenhart Company, Inc
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Scott Faust & Associates
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Shamrock Real Estate Services, LLC
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Targa, Inc
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Stark Commercial - East
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Urban Land Interests
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Slinde Realty Company
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Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Matson Real Estate
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Artisan Graham Real Estate
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ABSTRACT Commercial Real Estate LLC
...Full Story Here
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 Ralph Kamps Editor CirexNews 608.345.2880
Ken Harwood Publisher CirexNews 608.334.2174
Cirex News is emailed weekly to over 2,000 CRE Brokers/Agents and people interested in commercial real estate. It is online at CirexNews.com. All of our articles are archived and searchable. So a search for " opportunity zone" will bring up dozens of articles on the subject.
In our weekly News & Views you can promote your clients properties and your services
call 608-345-2880 for details...
...Full Story Here
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