CHICAGO— An affiliate of Premier Transportation recently purchased a 319,683-square-foot industrial building located at 2635 Federal Signal Dr. in south suburban University Park, one of the largest industrial sales to a user in Will County in 2014.
The Atlanta-based Premier provides transportation services and logistics to retail and consumer products companies nationwide and will use the property to consolidate and expand its Chicago operations. Darwin Realty & Development Corp., a firm in suburban Chicago, helped broker the sale. George Cibula, and Rick Daly of Darwin represented the seller, a private investment group. Jason West and Sean Henrick of Cushman & Wakefield worked on behalf of Premier. The parties did not disclose the price, but RealtyTrac reported it as $8.4 million.
The company was looking for a building with more than 200,000-square-feet and high-velocity docks, Daly tells GlobeSt.com, and in this submarket that presents a challenge. “There is a lack of product for sale. In the past ten years, the majority of buildings were bought up by institutional investors that won't sell except as part of a larger portfolio.”
Developing new product in the area remains difficult as well. “Replacement costs are still high,” says Daly. “Even though during the down years construction costs did decline, labor costs did not really go down, and now the costs of materials has started to rise again and even land costs are going up. Put all this together, and replacement costs are prohibitive.”
Still, this 21-acre site has frontage on I-57 and features include 32' clear ceiling height, nearly 7,000-square-feet of office space, 22 exterior docks with levelers, two drive-in doors, ESFR sprinkler system, 200 trailer parking positions and parking for 80 cars.
Furthermore, adds Cibula, “this property offers nine additional acres for expansion capability and warehouse space to accommodate Premier's high velocity operations.”
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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.
