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ANTIOCH, IL-A joint venture between Chicago-based V Land Corp. and Equibase Capital Group LLC has acquired two adjacent parcels of farmland aggregating nearly 78 acres for development of Antioch Marketplace, a 600,000-sf retail power center. The property, located along Route 173 just west of Deep Lake Road, is across from a Super Wal-Mart and new Menard's supermarket.

Steve Panko, V Land's president, says he anticipates approvals with a scheduled ground breaking within 12 months and completion in 2008. "The Village of Antioch has had this project in the works for 10 years," he says, "but we were finally able to reach agreement with local landowners." Those landowners are Upton Properties Inc. and Larry Cohen. Chris Pope of Westmont-based John Pope & Associates represented V Land and has been retained to market the retail development.

Panko declined to disclose the price of the land, but tells GlobeSt.com, the all-in development cost is approximately $50 million. "We plan to sell three pad sites to big box retailers who will build their own units," Panko says, without identifying the retailer prospects.