Zilber Property Group stakes its claim in Northeast Wisconsin

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

June 15, 2026

LITTLE CHUTE – When Milwaukee-based Zilber Property Group began evaluating Northeast Wisconsin as a potential investment market, Director of Industrial Investments Todd Battle said the region felt strikingly familiar. 

Battle said the similarity wasn’t rooted in the Fox Valley and Green Bay area’s economic makeup compared to Madison’s technology- and life sciences-driven market.

Instead, he said Northeast Wisconsin reminded them of their home base in Milwaukee, where manufacturing, logistics and industrial businesses serve as major economic engines. 

“This is an area with some stronger and more diversified and homegrown industrial base,” he said. “Madison… is weighted more toward medical and technology and life sciences, where Green Bay feels a lot more to us like Milwaukee, where the industrial economy drives the economy.”

Battle said those parallels were a major reason Zilber chose to make its first Fox Valley investment, acquiring a 208,000-square-foot industrial facility in Little Chute.

He said the company expects the investment to be the first of many as they establish a footprint in Northeast Wisconsin.

Battle said for Zilber, the acquisition is less about a single building and more about securing a foothold in a market it has been pursuing for years.

“We have looked at that market [for years] as it’s been an area of emphasis to find opportunities in the region,” he said. “This [property] really was a great fit with our portfolio and the types of properties we want to own.”

Building on nearly 80 years of experience

Zilber Property Group operates under the umbrella of Zilber Ltd., Battle said – a privately held, full-service real estate company approaching its 80th year in business.

While Zilber Ltd.’s operations span residential development, single-family home construction and multifamily projects across markets ranging from California and Arizona to Florida and Hawaii, Battle said Zilber Property Group focuses exclusively on commercial and industrial real estate.

Today, he said the company owns and manages nearly 10 million square feet of industrial property, all within Wisconsin.

Battle said Zilber Property Group’s portfolio stretches across the Milwaukee metropolitan area, the Interstate 94 corridor through Kenosha and Racine counties, the Interstate 90/39 corridor serving Janesville and Beloit and the Madison market.

The Little Chute acquisition, he said, officially adds the Fox Valley to that footprint.

Finding the right fit

Battle said the company had evaluated other opportunities in Northeast Wisconsin before investing, but none checked all the necessary boxes.

“We have been looking at this region for a while and other opportunities we looked at, but it’s been a little bit of a Goldilocks thing,” he said. “Maybe a little too big, tenancy wasn’t great, location wasn’t perfect. But this [property in Little Chute] is a great location, great physical asset, has solid tenancy, is a good size in terms of the types of buildings we own and size, so [it] was one of those ‘this fits’ [feelings].”

Located at 2225 Bohm Drive in Little Chute, Battle said the facility sits along the U.S. 41 corridor between Appleton and Green Bay and is fully occupied by Progressive Converting Inc. – which, according to proconusa.com, is the nation’s largest independent paper converter by market share.

Beyond the building itself, Battle said the acquisition’s strategic value lies in giving Zilber an established presence in a region it wants to build within – literally and figuratively.

“If you look at our industrial division, we’re fairly balanced between doing a lot of our own ground-up construction and new development and acquisitions,” he said.

Battle said the company routinely acquires raw land, makes site improvements, develops speculative industrial facilities and leases them to tenants.

At the same time, he said the company acquires existing assets that complement its portfolio.

“In this case, we are looking at the region as an area we’d like to continue to invest in, and buying a fully stabilized asset gives us a footprint there…,” he said. “It allows us to be more connected to what is going on in the region. It allows us to be more thoughtful and knowledgeable about good investment opportunities going forward.”

A market with industrial strength

Battle said Northeast Wisconsin’s industrial scale and economic fundamentals have long made it attractive to the company.

At roughly 115 million square feet of industrial real estate, Battle said the Fox Valley sits between the Greater Milwaukee market, which encompasses about 300 million square feet, and Madison, which has roughly 65 million square feet.

The numbers, he said, reinforce the significance of the region as one of Wisconsin’s largest industrial markets.

Equally important is the diversity of industries that call Northeast Wisconsin home, Battle said, from manufacturing and converting operations to food processing, logistics, warehousing and distribution.

“We like the marketplace a lot in terms of the fundamentals of the region,” he said. “Good demographics, strong stable industrial base, fair amount of relative growth compared to the rest of the State of Wisconsin.”

Battle said the region’s transportation assets further strengthen that business case.

With Interstate 41 and Interstate 43 providing direct highway access, the Port of Green Bay supporting marine shipping and a robust network of trucking and third-party logistics providers serving the region, Battle said Northeast Wisconsin has become an increasingly important transportation and distribution hub.

“When I say we like the fundamentals and the demographics of the region, that’s part of the business case,” he said. “This is a really healthy, stable region with a strong, growing diversified industrial base and great footprint with distribution and logistics. For us as an industrial company, it’s a nice area to own industrial real estate with those types of fundamentals.”

Opportunity in a tight market

Battle said the company also sees favorable supply-and-demand dynamics in Northeast Wisconsin’s industrial real estate market.

The industrial sector, he said, experienced several years of extraordinary growth following the COVID-19 pandemic as companies expanded warehousing and logistics operations to address supply-chain disruptions.

That momentum, Battle said, has since returned to its pre-pandemic levels.

“When I joined Zilber in early 2023, the market had been strong for several years tied to the effects of COVID-19,” he said. “There was a lot of investment in industrial real estate to build logistics and warehouse capacity and more, and there were some really rapid growth years.”

Since then, Battle said the market has settled into a healthier and more sustainable rhythm.

“It feels like from the veterans in our organization and industry, we’re back to a more normal set of circumstances,” he said. “[We’re witnessing] measured growth and good investment opportunities with an equilibrium between supply and demand.”

In Northeast Wisconsin, however, Battle said he sees an additional opportunity.

“If anything, it feels like [in] the Fox Valley and Green Bay area the market is fairly tight, with very stable occupancy, very low vacancy and limited amounts of new development,” he said. “If anything, there is some opportunity there as it’s a healthy, stable market that hasn’t had a lot of overbuilding. It almost feels like in that market, demand outpaces supply a little bit – [there’s] more pent-up demand.”

Relationships come first

As Zilber establishes itself in the region, Battle said relationship-building will be every bit as important as future acquisitions and development projects.

Before joining Zilber, he said he spent 19 years leading an economic development organization in Kenosha County, experience that aligns closely with the company’s philosophy.

“[Zilber] has a philosophy of having great relationships with the communities they do business in,” he said.

Across Wisconsin, Battle said Zilber has worked closely with municipalities and economic development organizations on business recruitment efforts, infrastructure investments and industrial park development.

“That’s part of our DNA,” he said. “If we invest in a community, we’d like to build relationships with the economic development organizations and municipalities we’re working together with.”

Just the beginning

For now, Battle said Zilber’s Northeast Wisconsin presence consists of a single industrial property and an existing tenant the company hopes will continue to thrive.

This, he said, is just the beginning, though – noting that Zilber has made it clear the acquisition is intended as a starting point for further investment in the region. 

Future investments, Battle said, could come in the form of additional acquisitions or ground-up industrial developments, depending on where opportunities emerge.

“Really, it’s about finding the right opportunities,” he said. “For us, it’s about continuing to look for opportunities for a good fit.”

For more, head to zilberpropertygroup.com.