CHICAGO- For years, the economic crisis dried up demand for new warehouses in suburban Chicago. But Morgan/Harbour Construction just announced that the firm has broken ground on a new 180,480-square-foot speculative warehouse in suburban Woodridge. The new structure, the second phase of Park 355, a 37-acre complex near the junction of I-355 and I-55, is a joint venture between HSA Commercial and Denver-based Industrial Income Trust.
“There hasn't been a speculative building in this suburb in four or five years,” says Craig Phillips, executive vice president of development with Chicago-based HSA. The resulting pent-up demand, along with what the partners consider a reviving economy and the advantages to a site freely visible from Interstate 355 “all came together and resulted in us green lighting the project.”
HSA began developing Park 355 in 2006. Phase 1 was a 254,453-square-foot distribution center that the firm leased to logistics and manufacturing tenants such as Ace Hardware, Tricor Braun and DIK Drugs. In June 2011, Industrial Income Trust purchased the fully-occupied building from HSA and Bridge Development Partners.
Located at 2143 Internationale Parkway, the new building will sit on 9.49 acres and include 30-foot clear heights, an ESFR sprinkler system, 28 exterior truck docks with levelers, and four drive-in doors. It will have parking for 196 vehicles and the developers will have the option to expand by an additional 23 exterior docks and five drive-in doors.
HSA and IIT will most likely divide their new warehouse into sections of nearly 20,000-square-feet to accommodate a group of smaller tenants. “Most of the activity we see in that submarket comes from a lot of growing companies,” Phillips explains, “and they haven't been able to do anything for years and need to grow into a larger space.”
Ben Warriner, vice president of construction; John Becker, project manager; and Robert Papineau, superintendent, will lead the construction team for Woodridge-based Morgan/Harbour. Cornerstone Architects will provide architectural services. Morgan/Harbour says they will finish the warehouse in fall 2013.
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
