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ROMEOVILLE, IL-Panattoni Construction, headquartered in Sacramento, is constructing two speculative buildings totaling about 396,000 sf. The firm is building an approximately 136,000-sf building on a seven-acre site at 1801 W. Normantown Rd. with an estimated cost of $9 million. The company is also constructing an approximately 260,000-sf building on a 13 acre site at 1601 W. Normantown Rd. with an estimated cost of $14 million, says John Pagliari, development manager with Panattoni Development Co., which is developing the park. The construction arm of the firm is the design-build contractor for the projects.

The 136,000-sf building will be marketed to tenants seeking between 60,000 sf to 136,000 sf of space while the 260,000-sf building will be marketed to tenants seeking more than 100,000 sf of space, Pagliari says. The lease rate will be in the "mid $4" range per sf for the smaller spaces and in the "upper $3" range per sf for the larger spaces, he says. Both buildings are expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Panattoni acquired the property from AMLI as part of a portfolio. "The I-55 market has been one of the hottest markets in Chicago for a long time," Pagliari says. "Panattoni got its start by buying the AMLI portfolio, which was on the northeast corner of Weber Road and I-55 and this was an option parcel on that sale." A 716,000-sf building at 1401 Normantown Rd. is occupied by DSC Logistics and Dann Dee Display. An 814,000-sf building is occupied by Sears, Pagliari says. Both buildings were constructed on a speculative basis. After finishing up the speculative building now occupied by Sears, Panattoni decided to construct the two additional speculative buildings. "We had this remaining land and wanted to put it into play as quick as possible," he says.