CHICAGO—As reported in GlobeSt.com, Michelin recently entered into a build-to-suit agreement to lease 1.7-million-square-feet of distribution space from Ridge Development at the RidgePort Logistics Center in Wilmington, IL, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago. And this Wednesday, Ridge, the industrial arm of Transwestern Development Company, will break ground on the project, the largest development of its kind this year. The developers expect to deliver the project for the tire manufacturer in mid-2015.
The ceremony will take place at 10:15 AM at 24593 Lorenzo Rd., one mile west of I-55 in Wilmington. Participants will include: Dan Seals, deputy director of the state's Dept. of Commerce and Economic Development; J. Martin Orr, the mayor of Wilmington; Jim Martell, chief executive officer of Ridge; Pete Gasparini, regional manager, Ledcor Construction, the general contractor; executives from JLL, who brokered the lease; and other executives from Cornerstone Architects and Manhard Consulting.
RidgePort is a 1,500-acre, rail-served intermodal park with room for 14-million-square-feet of industrial, warehousing and logistics buildings. It sits about three miles south of the I-55 Arsenal Rd. exit that leads to the BNSF Logistics Park-Chicago in Elwood and the Union Pacific-Joliet Intermodal Terminal in Joliet. Located in the Will County Inland Port region, the largest inland container port in North America, RidgePort provides economic incentive packages to qualified companies, has an Enterprise Zone designation and qualifies for a Foreign Trade Zone designation.
A joint venture between Ridge Development and a state pension fund advised by Heitman Financial owns the facilities. JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. is providing financing for the construction.
“As one of the largest US distribution complexes when fully built out,” said Martell, “this project should boost RidgePort to one of the most significant logistics parks in the country.”
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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.
