Two REITs plan to invest $50 million in Milwaukee industrial market. (real estate investment trusts)

With the recent announcement that Square D Co. is shutting down its Milwaukee operations, leaving more than 400,000 square feet of industrial space on the open market, a pair of Chicago-based real estate investment trusts have surfaced as logical candidates to acquire the property.

Whether either or both will pursue a deal for the Square D plant remains to be seen. But it's a sure thing that both Centerpoint Properties Corp. and First Industrial Real Estate Trust Inc. will be major players in 1997 in Milwaukee's industrial real estate market.

In fact, both real estate investment trusts (REITs) have said they hope to open a Milwaukee office by the end of this year.

"We're aggressively opportunistic in …