At a groundbreaking ceremony held in its first completed building in First Park 94, First Industrial announced it will expand their investment in the Village of Somers by constructing a second building in the business park.  The building is expected to total approximately 600,000 square feet with an option to expand.

 

Click here to view a map of the First Park 94 development which includes location of Building B currently under construction.

 

 

First Park 94 second building groundbreaking ceremony on August 23, 2016
Adam Moore, First Industrial; Village of Somers Trustees Cardinali, Geertsen, Otsby;  Village of Somers President, Stoner; Bill Morris, Administrator; Brad Kluever, First Industrial Realty Trust
 
(Photo by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

 

Johannson Yap, CIO First Industrial Realty Trust, George Stoner, President Village of Somers, Adam Moore, First Industrial
(Photo by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

 

Joe Cardinali and Al Brokmeier, Village of Somers Trustees, and George Stoner, Village of Somers President
(Photo by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

 

Dave Geertsen and Karl Ostby, Village of Somers Trustees
(Photo by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

 

George Stoner, Village of Somers President and Bill Morris, Village of Somers Administrator
(Photo by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

 

First Park 94 completed building one as of August 23, 2016
(Photo by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

 

Moving earth of ground breaking day, August 23, 2016
(Photo by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

 

George Stoner, President of the Village of Somers
Speech at Groundbreaking August 23, 2016
(Photo by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)
 

 

“Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,
I’m George Stoner, President of the Village of Somers.  Thank you First Industrial for inviting me to join you in the celebration of the ground breaking of your second building in First Park 94.  On August 23, 2015, almost one year to the day, we stood at a ground breaking ceremony for your first building.  The completed building and grounds next to us are of the highest standards and offer tenants world-class space in a prime location.  You are to be congratulated on your success.  I am confident this second building will meet or exceed the same high standards.
I’d like to quote the great coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi, “You don’t do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”  First Park 94 is an exceptional development that has a team of people who have a common goal of doing things right “all the time”.  The Somers leadership team has the highest respect for the people who are part of the talented and skilled workforce that we will work with daily on this development project. They are:
 
  • First Industrial Realty Trust – the developer of this industrial park
  • Pinnacle Engineering Group –  the engineers for the developer
  • Riley Construction – who is responsible for the site’s general construction and assembling local resources in the concrete, carpenter, drywall, electric, HVAC and general labor trades
  • Reesman Excavating & Grading – who – by the way – has equipment on site and is moving earth today
  • Globe Contractors – who are responsible for the installation of sanitary and storm sewer and water main systems from Highway 31 to the site
  • Baxter & Woodman Consulting Civil Engineers who provide planning and design services for our Somers public infrastructure
  • Kenosha County Planning and Development  – who provide professional services relating to land use, permitting, site plan review, and ordinance management to the Village, contractors, and developers
  • Kenosha County Highway Department – who is working on the Highways H & S road improvement project which will assure a safe and efficient highway system for First Park 94, future development, and our community.

 

Last year, Somers achieved 6.45% in property value growth, one of the highest levels in the State of Wisconsin.  In 2016, we saw Festival Foods open their new store in July, Kwik-Trip began site preparation for its new convenience store and fuel station, and Bear Development’s 280-unit apartment complex will be “move in ready” for new families soon.  
On a final note, thank you First Industrial for making a second investment in the Village of Somers.  We believe we offer the best pool of talented and skilled workforce to businesses in Somers and Kenosha County.  Somers is the home to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside who has over 4,500 students.  Located on our lakefront is Carthage College, a private liberal arts and science college who has 3,000 full and part-time students.  Within 15 minutes of the Somers Village/Town Hall is Gateway Technical College who serves more than 25,000 students who learn real-world skills to meet the needs of employers and communities in southeastern Wisconsin.  And, our community supports the Kenosha Achievement Center who works with people with special needs by providing trained workers to employers.  Training programs are subsidized and have no cost to employers.

 

Quality lifestyle…
Education…
Jobs…
Low cost of local government…
and abundant natural resources.

 

We have it all in Somers and we love it here.
 
Thank you again First Industrial and we are happy to partner with you as we grow our community.”

 

           –George Stoner