World Kitchen Secures 1.6 Million Square Feet of Industrial Space in California and Pennsylvania

Rosemont, IL – Rosemont-based kitchenware provider, World Kitchen, recently completed two leases for industrial space totaling more than 1.6 million square feet in Greencastle, Pennsylvania and Riverside, California. The two agreements mark the latest transactions in the continued partnership between World Kitchen and Chicago’s NAI Hiffman.
The Greencastle location provides World Kitchen the opportunity to modernize an existing 1.03 million square-foot building that will increase distribution efficiencies. An anticipated $10 million investment includes 20,000 square feet of new office space, replacement of HVAC systems throughout the facility, an ESFR sprinkler system, new roofing insulation, and additional truck docks. Site work will include the expansion of trailer parking by more than 150 stalls and the allocation of land to accommodate approximately 200,000 square feet of future expansion.

World Kitchen’s newly-restructured distribution model expands its logistics network beyond the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions to establish a West Coast presence. Riverside, California proved to be an ideal location as it is part of the Inland Empire in California with close proximity to the Port of Long Beach.

World Kitchen looked to secure a location before the 2013 peak holiday season, and the Riverside site provided the opportunity for first quarter occupancy of 400,000 square feet. A planned expansion to be completed by mid-2013 will bring the space to 630,600 square feet.

“Timing was a vital factor in the successful rollout of our California operation, and to find the right facility within our desired time frame was a critical step toward accomplishing our goals,” said Chris Roth, vice president of global direct sourcing at World Kitchen. “We were able to expedite a solution to ensure maximum efficiency.”

Michael J. Flynn, SIOR, CCIM, executive vice president, and Jason Wurtz, vice president, of NAI Hiffman represented World Kitchen in the Greencastle lease restructuring with assistance from Jack Shepley of partner firm, NAI CIR of Central Pennsylvania. New Jersey-based Matrix Development Group was the landlord for the transaction.

In addition, Flynn and Wurtz, in conjunction with John Boyer and Nicholas Chang of NAI Capital in Southern California, represented World Kitchen in the long-term lease of the Riverside facility. Stephen Batcheller and Jay Tanjuan of Panattoni Development Company, along with leasing agent Jones Lang LaSalle, were representatives for the landlord.

The two transactions are NAI Hiffman’s seventh and eighth in recent years representing World Kitchen. “We are privileged to have a global platform to assist our clients with their needs regardless of location, and happy that our team at NAI Hiffman could assist with these cross-state transactions,” said Flynn. NAI Hiffman’s relationship with World Kitchen dates back to 2002; the partnership has yielded nearly 4 million square feet in leasing transactions over the past ten years. Past assignments have included projects in Rosemont and Monee, Illinois; Toronto and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; and Reston, Virginia.

About World Kitchen, LLC

Headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois, World Kitchen and its affiliates manufacture and market metal cookware, glass, ceramic and metal bakeware, tabletop products, cutlery and kitchen tools sold under well-known brand names, including Baker’s Secret®, Chicago Cutlery®, Corelle®, CorningWare®, EKCO®, Magnalite®, OLFA®, OLO®, Pyrex®, Revere®, Snapware® and Visions®. The company and its affiliates employ approximately 3,222 people, and have major manufacturing and distribution operations in North America and Asia-Pacific regions. For more information, visit www.worldkitchen.com.

Mentioned in the Journal of Commerce

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