CHICAGO—The metro area's role as a multimodal transportation hub is altering several sectors of commercial real estate, and few companies provide a better illustration of this than global logistics provider C.H. Robinson. The company just signed a seven-year deal for a 235,000 square foot commercial office building and warehouse at 333 Howard Ave. in suburban Des Plaines. The move comes on the heels of its agreement with Sterling Bay to occupy a 207,000 square foot build-to-suit located at 1511 W. Webster Ave. in Lincoln Park that will help tranform the former industrial site into a new office center.

More than 1,000 employees will move into the Lincoln Park site, and starting in early 2016, about 150 will work out of the Des Plaines building. C.H. Robinson is the largest logistics company in Chicago and has roughly doubled its local headcount since 2005. Its nearly 2,000 Chicago employees account for almost 15% of its global workforce.

"Chicago is one of the most important markets in our global shipping network, thanks to its connectivity to Class I rail, ocean shipping, truck transportation and one of the world's leading airports," says Mike Short, president of global forwarding at C.H. Robinson. "This move will enable our customers to have better access to these transportation options, and will position our company to build on our decade of rapid expansion in Chicago."