The Challenge
A local government contracting company was being acquired by British aerospace giant Smiths Group, PLC.  Their existing 150,000 square foot facility was outdated, inefficient and underutilized and therefore costing the company money to operate.  Smiths required a new facility of approximately 90,000 square feet providing easy access for employees and its customers while having the opportunity to expand.  A major challenge was most suburban warehouses had inadequate parking to accommodate Smiths’ workforce.  Also, the company was using low levels of biohazard materials in testing their detection systems created for public and private use, and therefore it was important to understand state and local zoning use issues.

The Solution
The MacKenzie Team was engaged to do a two-county site search for an 80,000 to 90,000 square foot technology manufacturing building including existing buildings and build-to-suit opportunities.  An employee zip code analysis, study of traffic patterns and proximity of customer base drove Smiths to the northeast I-95 corridor.  In this focused geography there were few existing buildings which met Smiths criteria which led to a build-to-suit site at Lakeside Business Park. Because the site layout was designed for a distribution center, the plan had to be reengineered to fit a smaller 120,000 square foot building with a greater parking capacity.  Meetings were held with state and local officials to ensure use compatibility with zoning.  Property permits were filed for and received. The result was a new technology manufacturing building providing easy access to its employees within miles of its primary customer, Aberdeen Proving Grounds and giving Smiths the ability to expand for future growth.

Smiths Group

Services Provided:
• Leasing & Sales
• Corporate Consulting & Strategic Planning
• Development Services
• Construction Services
• Property & Asset Management
• Financing
• Market Research
• Appraisal & Valuation Services
• Global Logistics