Construction of multi-tenant office building set for mid-April in American Center

Construction will start within a week for a single-story office building on four acres of farmland in the American Center business park on Madisons Far East Side.

The 35,440-square-foot building will be the final piece of St. John Properties four-building Madison East Business Center at South Biltmore Lane and Eastpark Boulevard a sort-of mini-office park within the 447-acre business park being developed by American Family Insurance.

We cater to small tenants, said Greg Fax, a regional manager in charge of Wisconsin holdings for St. John Properties, a commercial developer based in Baltimore, Maryland. Thats kind of a niche, small tenants. I can subdivide to as small as about 1,100 square feet, so I could potentially have up to 16 tenants there.

Already home to insurance offices and other white-collar companies or non-profit agencies in the other three buildings of the Madison East Business Center, there so far is no anchor tenant lined up for the fourth building, which will have an address of 4618 S. Biltmore Lane .

Its a speculative building, but were talking to people, Fax said. And the markets strong.

Fax said construction would take about six months, with tenants moving in by years end.

With a portfolio of more than 17 mil lion square feet, St. John Properties has real estate investments valued at more than $2.5 bil lion in eight states including Wisconsin, according to the companys website. In Madison, it also owns Nelson Road Business Center, a nearby office/warehouse development on Felland Road.

Charles Redjinski, a sellers agent with NAI MLG Commercial who represents American Family in all land transactions at the American Center, said the decision by St. John Properties to put up the new building before any tenants were signed bodes well for the Madison market.

There are very few developers in Madison that are kicking off a speculative office building, Redjinksi said. The market has seen an uptick, especially on the East Side, and the activity in the (American Center) is great. This is just one of many closings we have coming up.

Located off the southwest border of American Familys national headquarters at Interstate 39-90-94 and Highway 151, the center is nearly 61 percent finished, with 139 acres still for sale.

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Construction of multi-tenant office building set for mid-April in American Center