The Northwest Indiana Forum will organize a panel discussion, “Building to Meet Industrial Real Estate Needs in Northwest Indiana,” intended to spur more construction of industrial shell buildings in our seven-county region.
Elected officials and business leaders are invited to attend the discussion – set for Tuesday, July 14 at 8:30 a.m. at the Indiana Welcome Center, 7770 Corrine Drive, Hammond.
Shell buildings have proven to be essential in the marketplace when attracting industrial and commercial companies, which bring quality jobs that will help raise the average wage in Northwest Indiana. Companies today move at the speed of business and they often require a building immediately when planning their next major investment. These structures are close to move-in ready for businesses and can be tailored to fit their specific production, warehousing and other needs. Panel participants will discuss why shell buildings are an important economic development tool and how communities can partner with developers to put up shell buildings to attract companies.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Don Babcock, Director of Economic Development at NIPSCO, who is involved with many of the utility’s projects and initiatives across northern Indiana.
Panel participants include a mix of developers and community leaders, including:
David Diener, White County Commissioner and member of White County Economic Development board.
Kelly Disser, Executive Vice President and Partner with the Industrial Services Group of NAI Hiffman. Disser represents private companies, owners, financial institutions, investors and developers in the acquisition, disposition and leasing of industrial real estate assets, investments and land throughout the greater Chicagoland markets. He is licensed in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Mike Micka, Vice President of Development at Holladay Properties. Micka provides oversight for Holladay’s existing projects, including Ameriplex at the Port in Portage and Ameriplex at the Crossroads in Merrillville. Additional day-to-day activities include lease administration for over 1.2 million sq. ft. of industrial and office space and identifying public and private land development opportunities.
Dan Zuerner, Vice President of Business Development at Garmong Construction Services. Garmong and White County entered a public/private joint venture to build a 60,000 square foot industrial shell building.
“We have an outstanding story in Northwest Indiana, and we’ve told it so well that now the onus is on us to create some high quality building inventory to keep up with the demand ,” said Matt Saltanovitz, Director of Economic Development for the Northwest Indiana Forum. “We aim for this discussion to be the catalyst to spur development of more product for users who want to experience the welcoming business climate our seven-county region has to offer.”
The Northwest Indiana Forum is a non-profit, privately funded regional environmental and economic development organization, comprised of regional business leaders, serving northwest Indiana. Funded by member contributions and grants, Forum membership translates into a direct investment in the region.
Reservations are required to attend the discussion. Please contact Raeann Trakas, Director of Marketing for the Northwest Indiana Forum at rtrakas@nwiforum.org or 219-763-6303, ext. 181.