CHICAGO—It can be tough to find modern and available industrial facilities within the city of Chicago. But the Sitex Group, a private equity firm that specializes in industrial real estate, has just acquired a 128,000-square-foot vacant warehouse located at 5000 S. Homan and company officials say the modern facility will be ready for a tenant by spring.
Built in the 1990s, “it definitely has modern amenities and is in great shape,” Sitex's Cary Goldman tells GlobeSt.com. It features 30' clear ceiling height, 30 exterior loading docks, grade level access, office space and sits near the I-55/Pulaski Ave. interchange and the former CN Railroad distribution facility. It can accommodate eight rail cars and 10 trailers for rail to truck or truck to truck transloading. And its 16 acres of land and significant paved outdoor areas makes it fairly unique among city properties. It was used by a paper logistics firm and has been vacant since 2013.
“A property with these features is always in high demand but difficult to find in an infill location in Chicago,” Goldman adds. The Chicago-based company plans to update the structure by adding a more modern sprinkler system, modern lighting, renovated offices and staining the exterior “to make it look crisp and new again. We're actively looking for an outstanding tenant who can benefit from a highly efficient, rail-served building in a vibrant neighborhood.” The property could host a distributor or a manufacturer.
The desire among consumers to receive ordered products quicker than ever “is bringing a focus back to Chicago,” Goldman says, as distributors look for facilities closer to their customers. However, too many of the buildings in the city were constructed prior to the 1990s and “the functionality of buildings has changed.” Traditionally, for example, Chicago developers shoe-horned buildings onto small sites without the level of parking companies now want. “That means new, in-fill warehouses are required.”
Founded in 2001, over the years Sitex has also become a specialist in turning functionally obsolete buildings into desirable properties. It recently launched Sitex Fund VIII, and has started to spread its wings across the country. As reported in GlobeSt.com, it opened an office in Manhattan Beach, CA, its first on the West Coast. It also has an office in New York and became one of the largest industrial buyers in New Jersey.
Goldman says the company recently sold about 20 properties, significantly shrinking its footprint. “But we are now definitely in acquisition mode.”
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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.
