GRAND HAVEN — A Chicago-based investment firm has purchased a more than 90,000-square-foot industrial property in Ottawa County.
Brennan Investment Group LLC, a Rosemont, Ill.-based industrial property investor, purchased the facility housing Lakeshore Fittings Inc., a Grand Haven-based manufacturer of standard and custom precision-machined brass and aluminum fittings and components.
According to public records, Brennan bought the building at 1865 Industrial Drive on Aug. 22 for $4.85 million from the manufacturer’s former owners.
Brennan, which also owns the Tesla stamping plant facility in Grand Rapids and others statewide, specializes in sale leaseback deals.
“We definitely like the story of what is happening in Michigan, and Grand Rapids has always been an area to target,” said Scott McKibben, chief investment officer and managing principal of Brennan Investment Group.
According to McKibben, the company’s portfolio includes 177 properties across the Midwest and nine buildings spanning 1.6 million square feet in Michigan.
Brennan opted to purchase the Lakeshore Fittings building because of the strength of the established business, McKibben said, noting that the manufacturer has been in the facility since 1989.
“We have a large (number) of manufacturing and … assembly-type buildings throughout our portfolio,” he told MiBiz. “The tenant has the right infrastructure and investment in the space. This facility met that criteria, as (Lakeshore) invested a lot of capital in the building itself, invested in a lot of equipment. We believe in the long-term viability of the tenant, and the fact that the building works for them, works for us.”
According to McKibben, the investment group has kept its eye on the industrial market in the region for some time.
“We think West Michigan is a different animal altogether,” he said. “Detroit has come back strong, but we look at West Michigan as (focused on) different industries and is not all automotive-related. We treat that as a different investment market. … There is great turnaround growth in Michigan.”
A representative from Lakeshore Fittings could not be reached for comment at the time this story went to press. The company was acquired in 2016 by Elyria, Ohio-based Alco Manufacturing Corp., a platform company of Cleveland-based private equity firm Blue Point Partners.
According to its website, Brennan Investment Group has portfolio investments in 29 states and “operates in markets that offer scale and liquidity, adjusting its allocations according to market conditions.”
“We have a significant portion of our portfolio in manufacturing facilities,” McKibben said.