Cornerstone Alliance is working to make Berrien County more attractive to businesses by commissioning an Industrial Lease Rate Analysis. Cornerstone President Rob Cleveland tells us the study compiled information on the cost of locating an industrial operation in the area. He says it found some positive news and some not so positive news.
“Our lease rates are below market for industrial, which means it is cheaper to locate in Berrien County than some of the other areas around,” Cleveland said. “That is great for us. That’s a great selling point. A company can come here and their cost to do business will be lower. On the flip side of that coin, it is more difficult for us to recruit a builder because they know that the lease rates they’re going to get for that space are currently lower.”
Cleveland says that issue appears to be slowly resolving itself. Cornerstone Alliance worked with Colliers International, a real estate services company, to do the study. Cleveland says Berrien County has many properties that would be ideal for industrial operations like automotive production, food processing, and logistics. The Industrial Lease Rate Analysis could help such businesses make a decision more easily.
