Details on Stern Pinball's New 50% Larger Factory

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Nov 17, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.014

TL;DR

Stern Pinball expanding 50% with $6.5M relocation to larger Elk Grove Village facility

Summary

Stern Pinball is relocating to a new 163,875-square-foot facility in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, representing a ~50% expansion from its current 110,000-square-foot location. The company is investing $6.5 million in the relocation with a 10-year lease costing $26 million total, beginning October 2023. Elk Grove Village is providing up to $2 million in tax incentives to retain the manufacturer.

Key Claims

New Stern facility will be 163,875 square feet vs current 110,000 square feet
high confidence · Town of Elk Grove Village records and filed documents
Stern spending $6.5 million on relocation including building upgrades, prep work, move-in costs, equipment and furniture
high confidence · Town records documentation
10-year lease with Prologis set to begin October 2023 at $26 million total
high confidence · Town records and lease documentation
Elk Grove Village offering Stern up to $2 million in tax increment financing over 6 years to stay in town
high confidence · Town incentive package documentation
Stern originally moved to Elk Grove from Melrose Park in 2015
high confidence · Historical records referenced in article

Notable Quotes

“Stern's budget -- including building upgrades, prep work, move-in costs, and equipment and furniture -- is $6.5 million.”
Town records — Specific breakdown of relocation investment costs

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyElk Grove Village, IllinoisorganizationPrologiscompanyKuehne + NagelcompanyMelrose Park, Illinoisorganization

Signals

?
business_signal: Municipal retention of Stern Pinball in Elk Grove Village demonstrates local economic value of manufacturer and manufacturing infrastructure
high · Elk Grove Village awarded $2 million in tax increment financing to keep Stern in jurisdiction and incentivize expansion
?
business_signal: Stern Pinball committing significant capital ($6.5M+) to facility expansion with decade-long lease, indicating confidence in long-term market demand and company growth trajectory
high · $6.5 million relocation budget, 10-year $26 million lease agreement, ~50% facility size increase
$
market_signal: Stern's expansion suggests anticipation of increased production capacity and market growth in pinball manufacturing
medium · 50% increase in square footage from 110,000 to 163,875 square feet indicates planned scaling of operations

Topics

Facility expansion and relocationprimaryManufacturing capacity and infrastructureprimaryBusiness investment and municipal incentivesprimaryStern Pinball strategic planningsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— News of facility expansion is generally positive for manufacturer growth and production capacity. Tone is factual and informative. No negative sentiments expressed.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

I was recently able to find a number of interesting pieces of information about the new, larger location that Stern Pinball is planning to move to in papers filed with the town of Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Stern's new facility will be a couple of blocks away from its existing location and expand to 163,875-square-feet. The company's current facility is 110,000-square-feet, so the new location is just under 50% larger. According to town records, Stern is spending more than $5 million on the relocation project. More specifically, the article below says that "Stern's budget -- including building upgrades, prep work, move-in costs, and equipment and furniture -- is $6.5 million." The total lease will cost $26 million. The 10-year lease with the building's owner Prologis is set to begin in October 2023. The spot is currently occupied by a transportation and logistics firm called Kuehne + Nagel, which is moving to a new location itself. Stern was considering leaving Elk Grove Village, so the municipality awarded it up to $2 million in "tax increment financing funds" over the next six years to entice it to stay in town. This payment consists of $1.25 million when a certificate of occupancy is issued, $400,000 after five years, and $100,000 after year six. Stern Pinball originally moved to Elk Grove from nearby Melrose Park back in 2015. Elk Grove Village Addendum Regular Village Board Meeting https://www.elkgrove.org/home/showpublisheddocument/13649 8 million quarters to continue playing: Elk Grove gives Stern Pinball incentive to stay in town, expand https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20221117/8-million-quarters-to-continue-playing-elk-grove-gives-stern-pinball-incentive-to-stay-in-town-expand Below are several renderings of what Stern's new facilities will look like, again according to documents filed with the town.