Rick Romell

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Two large buildings and vacant land in the GrandView Business Park in Racine County have been sold for $33 million to firms connected to Hillwood Development, a Dallas company founded by the son of former presidential candidate H. Ross Perot.

Hillwood-related entities paid $12.9 million each for two existing buildings and their sites in GrandView, and $7.2 million for 58 acres nearby.

Hillwood, which already is developing the future Amazon fulfillment center in Oak Creek, plans to put up two more large industrial/warehouse buildings at GrandView, which is just west of I-94 and south of Highway 20 in the Village of Yorkville. The Village Board this week approved conditional use permits for the planned buildings, each of which will cover 194,000 square feet.

Hillwood, meanwhile, is looking at other possible real estate investments in the region.

"We’re very bullish about what’s happening in Wisconsin and southeastern Wisconsin and the Milwaukee market, so we’re hoping to expand our platform even further,” said Donald Schoenheider, senior vice president and Midwest market leader with Hillwood.

Foxconn Technology Group's plans to build a large manufacturing and research complex about 3 miles away weren't a significant factor in Hillwood's decision to invest in GrandView, Schoenheider indicated.

“We’re really very positive about the Racine County market and the market in general in metropolitan Milwaukee and we really made the decision based on that," he said. "And if Foxconn does or doesn’t happen to some extent or another it's really like icing on the cake.”

H. Ross Perot Jr. founded Hillwood in 1988. The firm has a large portfolio of industrial, commercial and residential real estate across the U.S. and abroad.

Forbes magazine estimates Perot's net worth at $2.3 billion and that of his father at $4.1 billion. The elder Perot ran for president as an independent candidate in 1992 and 1996.

Contact Rick Romell at (414) 224-2130 or rick.romell@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RickRomell