Manufacturing Essential Asset 1 (MEA 1)
Industrial property in Harvard, IL · sponsored by CAI Investments
Manufacturing Essential Asset 1 (MEA 1) was a DST sponsored by CAI Investments that owned an industrial property in Harvard, IL (1,548,217 SF). Its last Form D was filed Jan 24, 2024.
How it ended
No outcome recorded · under 7 years
The record lists the offering as fully subscribed; the last Form D was filed Jan 24, 2024.
Key facts
- Minimum investment
- $100,000From the Form D
- Offering size
- $182,117,607Equity offered, per the Form D
- Sold
- 28.6%Form D, Jan 24, 2024; the % is our arithmetic
- Investors reported
- Form D, Jan 24, 2024156
- Selling commissions
- Form D Item 15; the % is our arithmetic$20,397,171 · 11.1% of offering
- Financing
- Leveraged. This offering reports mortgage debt on the property.How it is financed ↓
- Offered under
- Rule 506(c)May be advertised publicly. Every buyer’s accredited status must be verified.
Figures come from SEC Form D filings unless a source is cited. Sponsor-stated figures are as reported by the sponsor; Top1031 does not independently audit them. On a 45-day clock? Find day 45 and day 180 →
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Ask a 1031 specialist about this recordFree. About: Manufacturing Essential Asset 1 (MEA 1). Top1031 is not a broker-dealer.Manufacturing Essential Asset 1 (MEA 1) · Harvard, IL · Photo: caicap.com
What did the Trust own?
The site at 2001 N. Division Street in Harvard, Illinois is the former Motorola North American headquarters campus. 5 A CAI Investments affiliate, Pinnacle Fund Management, bought the 303-acre property from the U.S. Marshals Service in late September 2021 at an undisclosed price. 6 CAI reports the Trust secured U.S. Medical Glove Company as its sole tenant in March 2023, and describes the campus as that company's global headquarters and its manufacturing, research-and-development and distribution hub. 3
- Reported location
- Harvard, IL
- Property size
- 1,548,217 SF
How was it financed, and what did it cost to sell?
CAI reports that the MEA 1 investment totaled roughly $286 million of combined debt and equity but has not published the loan amount, the lender, or the leverage ratio. 3 The Form D notices carry no debt terms either, so the offering documents are the only place those terms appear.
Debt
- Financing
- Leveraged. This offering reports mortgage debt on the property.
Costs and terms from the Form D
- Selling commissions
- $20,397,171 · 11.1% of offering
- Finders’ fees
- $0
- Paid to officers, directors and promoters
- $2,235,765 · 1.2% of offeringForm D Item 16
- Broker-dealers named in the Form D
- 1 named in the Form D
Show the firms
- Emerson Equity LLC · CRD 130032
Individual representatives named in Item 12 are not listed.
- Date of first sale
- Apr 20, 2023
- Minimum investment
- $100,000
Form D Item 15 and Item 16 amounts may be the issuer’s estimates; each percentage is Top1031’s arithmetic on two Form D figures. Item 16 can overlap Item 15, so Top1031 does not add them together. The issuer marked these amounts as an estimate.
Who's behind the Trust?
CAI Investments is a Las Vegas–based real estate sponsor operating from 9325 W. Sahara Avenue, the address that appears on this Trust's SEC filings. 1 Its 1031 platform is small and manufacturing-focused: a second Manufacturing Essential Asset DST completed a $22.28 million equity raise, according to AltsWire reporting dated February 5, 2025. On March 19, 2026, CAI announced that this MEA 1 offering had been fully subscribed. 3
- Sponsor
- Offerings on record
What does the SEC record show?
Two notices sit on the SEC record: the April 2023 new filing and a January 2024 amendment, which reported a first sale date of April 20, 2023. 2 CAI later moved the offering from Rule 506(b) to Rule 506(c), which permits public advertising but requires the sponsor to verify each investor's accredited status. 5
- Legal Trust name
- Manufacturing Essential Asset, DST
- SEC CIK
- 1972627
- First Form D
- Apr 11, 2023
- Latest Form D
- Jan 24, 2024
- Filings on record
- 2
- Offered under
- Rule 506(c)May be advertised publicly. Every buyer’s accredited status must be verified.
- Source filing
SEC Form D filings, newest first
| Filed | Form | Offering amount | Amount sold | Investors | Filing on SEC EDGAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form D/A | $182,117,607 | $52,127,144+$52,127,144 | 156 | EDGAR | |
| Form D | $182,117,607 | $0 | EDGAR |
Amounts, investor counts and minimums are as filed with the SEC on Form D. The change lines are Top1031’s arithmetic between consecutive filings; a new Form D notice starts a new count.
A Form D is the notice a sponsor files when it starts raising money. A Form D filing does not mean the SEC approved, endorsed, or verified the offering.
Common questions
- What happened to Manufacturing Essential Asset 1 (MEA 1)?
- Manufacturing Essential Asset 1 (MEA 1) is a Historical offering. The record lists the offering as fully subscribed; the last Form D was filed Jan 24, 2024.
- Who is the tenant, and how long is the lease?
- The single tenant is U.S. Medical Glove Company (USMGC), a nitrile glove and medical equipment manufacturer whose build-out has been supported by Department of Defense and Health and Human Services funding. CAI states the lease is a 23.5-year absolute triple-net lease with four five-year renewal options, guaranteed by U.S. Medical Glove Company, LLC. Absolute triple-net means the tenant, not the Trust, pays property taxes, insurance and maintenance. In a May 30, 2024 press release marking its first year at the site, USMGC said ten nitrile-glove production lines were running with 21 more under assembly.
- What was this building before the glove company moved in?
- It is the former Motorola North American headquarters campus at 2001 N. Division Street in Harvard, Illinois. Chicago Tribune reporting identified Pinnacle Fund Management, an affiliate of CAI Investments, as the buyer of the 303-acre property from the U.S. Marshals Service in late September 2021, at an undisclosed price. Local coverage in June 2023 described the plant being prepared for U.S. Medical Glove's occupancy under a non-disclosure agreement that limited what city officials could say.
- How much debt is on the property?
- No public source reviewed states the loan amount, the lender, or the loan-to-value ratio. CAI has said the overall MEA 1 investment totaled approximately $286 million including both debt and equity, against a $182,117,607 total offering amount reported on the Form D. The difference implies debt, but the sponsor has not published the figure, and Form D notices do not require it. The offering documents and loan documents are the authoritative sources.
- Does this Trust have a 721/UPREIT exit option?
- No. The record for this Trust shows no provision to convert investor interests into operating-partnership units of a REIT — the structure often called a 721 exchange or UPREIT exit, in which DST investors roll into a REIT rather than into another property. Without that option, the eventual disposition path for this Trust is a sale of the property or the interests, as described in the offering documents.
- What does the 506(b)-to-506(c) conversion mean for me?
- Both are Regulation D exemptions that let a sponsor raise money privately without registering the securities. Under Rule 506(b) the sponsor cannot advertise generally and can rely on an investor's self-certification of accredited status. Under Rule 506(c) the sponsor may advertise publicly but must take reasonable steps to verify that every investor is accredited — typically tax returns, brokerage statements, or a letter from a CPA or attorney. CAI converted this offering to 506(c) in 2024, which is why prospective investors face documented verification rather than a checkbox.
In the news
Sources
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DST interests are illiquid private securities. You may lose some or all of your investment. Distributions, tax treatment, and exit timing are not guaranteed. Review the current offering documents before investing.