A massive cold-storage warehouse in Caledonia, fully occupied by dairy heavyweight Saputo, has changed hands for $71 million, putting a bright spotlight on the village’s industrial corridor just off I-94. The deal centers on a roughly 311,000-square-foot, temperature-controlled distribution facility in the Caledonia Corporate Park. Local industrial brokers say it ranks among the largest single-building industrial trades in Racine County this year and underscores how hungry investors are for modern cold-chain space, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.
Inside the $71 million deal
The sale was first detailed by the Milwaukee Business Journal, which reported the $71 million price tag and noted that the transaction involved Zilber Property Group and affiliates of Morgan Stanley. The property was recently developed as a build-to-suit facility and leased to Saputo, the global dairy processor, under a long-term agreement, according to the outlet.
Built for cold storage and Saputo’s operations
Zilber developed the complex as a dedicated, temperature-controlled distribution center measuring about 311,000 square feet at 13001 Baxter Court, according to Zilber Property Group. The facility opened last year, when Saputo ramped up operations there to bolster its regional distribution network and cold-chain capacity, BizTimes Milwaukee reported.
Local economic impact
Local officials had already pegged the project as a major economic win before the sale closed. The build itself was estimated at roughly $59 million and is expected to support about 160 jobs in the area, according to figures shared at the time of the project’s announcement and ribbon-cutting by the Racine County Economic Development Corp..
What the sale signals for the industrial market
Investors are paying premiums for modern cold-storage properties as grocery, foodservice and e-commerce users keep regional distribution space tight. Developers are still pressing ahead with speculative and build-to-suit industrial projects in Caledonia Corporate Park, and recent coverage from REBusinessOnline notes continued activity there.
Market reports from Newmark similarly point to strong demand for well-located, temperature-controlled logistics assets in the broader Milwaukee-Chicago corridor, suggesting Caledonia’s big-ticket Saputo warehouse sale is very much in line with where industrial capital wants to be.
