The 1-acre abandoned machine shop was acquired in 2005 by Caleb. The property, which contains a 36,000 square foot structure, was abandoned in the late 1980s when the company went bankrupt.

The financial institution with the mortgage foreclosed and acquired the property, only to discover that the property was contaminated with chlorinated solvents. In order to sell the property, the financial institution agreed to indemnify any buyer (i.e. retain responsibility for any environmental conditions). An individual purchased the property, accepting the indemnification, in the early 1990’s and obtained financing from a bank based on the strength of the indemnification. This individual remodeled a portion of the building into office space and began securing multiple tenants. However, this individual filed for bankruptcy, leaving the bank with the need to foreclose in order to recover their money.

The bank filed a lawsuit against the owner, but did not wish to take ownership of the tainted property. Caleb negotiated a purchase price with the bank, while the bank negotiated a settlement with the property owner. Caleb also contacted the former financial institution holding the responsibility for all environmental conditions and offered to release them from their liability for a fixed fee.

Following those successful negotiations, a closing was completed that released the financial institution from all environmental liabilities, eliminated a non-performing loan for the bank, and resolved a legal action against the former owner.

Drake completed an additional investigation to determine the current conditions on the property. The investigation results indicated that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) may be willing to authorize closure. Therefore, a report was submitted to the DNR requesting closure (this request is pending).

Caleb has secured additional tenants to occupy the entire building. Once closure is approved by the DNR and the building is fully occupied, the property is expected to increase in value from $450,000 to an estimated $2 million.