CHICAGO—The North Cook County submarket is chockablock with industrial properties built in the 1960s and 1970s, but has very few options for companies that need a modern building. But a joint venture has decided to help change that. Boston-based Cabot Properties Inc., and Chicago-based Seefried Industrial Properties closed late last month on the purchase of an 11.2-acre site at 5600-5700 W. Jarvis Ave. in Niles, and will soon demolish its two existing buildings and by the fourth quarter construct a new 217,000-square-foot spec warehouse.
JLL senior vice president Steve Trapp tells GlobeSt.com that, including this project, builders have launched just three industrial developments in the area in the last decade. Trapp and JLL colleagues Kurt Sarbaugh and Robin Stolberg represented the joint venture in the acquisition of the site and are now marketing the new development.
A JLL analysis showed that “this market was demanding new product,” Trapp says. Many local users make due with 18' clear ceilings, for example, but this new spec will feature a 30' clear height and give tenants the ability to hold far more product on the same footprint. In addition, an advanced sprinkler system should give this property a leg up on its aging competitors, which have limitations on stacking flammable products. “You will be able to put anything in this building.”
The building will also have 26 exterior docks and two drive-in doors as well as parking for more than 200 cars and 24 trailers. Furthermore, the property has been approved for “6b” Cook County property tax status by the Village of Niles.
Launching development projects in North Cook does have a few challenges. “This is a land-constrained market,” Trapp says. “It's not like the I-55, I-80 or Southeast Wisconsin markets,” since all of those have open spaces. Still, the residential density gives industrial users in North Cook a huge labor pool to draw from. He estimates that about 800,000 people live within a five-mile radius.
“This submarket has been extremely popular for industrial users largely because of the strong labor pool in Niles, Skokie and the North Side of Chicago,” adds Dave Riefe, senior vice president of Seefried's Midwest region. “But the options for modern, bulk space there are few and far between.”
Woodward, Inc. currently occupies the existing buildings with a lease that runs through March. As reported in GlobeSt.com, the aerospace company recently purchased a 366,931-square-foot warehouse and production facility at 6300 W. Howard St. in Niles for $24 million and plans to consolidate its Chicago-area operations there.
“We're seeing a lot of interest from other companies in the area that have also accumulated a number of buildings over the years and are now looking to consolidate,” Trapp says. And the project is at an early enough stage that the developers can customize it for food, manufacturing or 3PL companies. "The cross-section of industries in this submarket is very diverse and we're seeing all kinds of interest because there is nothing out there.”
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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.
