Fountain Square in Bolingbrook is unusual for an industrial development due to its green space and picturesque setting.
CHICAGO—Bridge Development Partners, LLC has just acquired Fountain Square Commerce Center, a four-building, 740,700-square-foot logistics center in suburban Bolingbrook that was completed in late 2016. Bridge plans to develop a fifth building at the site on a speculative basis that will total 216,300 square feet, bringing the total size of the development to approximately 957,000 square feet across 67 acres.
The industrial center is relatively unusual in that it's surrounded by green landscaping, including a park with walking paths, wooden bridges, and multiple detention ponds with—as the name suggests—fountains.
“In addition to its picturesque setting—a very uncommon attribute in industrial real estate, Fountain Square Commerce Center sits at what is arguably the most attractive address for logistics businesses along the I-55 Corridor,” says Steve Groetsema, partner, Midwest Region, Bridge Development Partners. “Bridge saw an opportunity to add value by acquiring the site and making strategic improvements through new development and enhanced leasing operations, aimed at attracting a very diverse roster of logistics and manufacturing businesses.”
The purchase and new development plans are votes of confidence in the region's still-growing potential as a distribution and logistics hub. Bridge recently bought up the 48 acres in Itasca used by WBBM Radio for its broadcast towers, one of the last remaining open spaces in the O'Hare submarket. That move paves the way for development of Bridge Point Itasca, an industrial complex totaling 741,621 square feet across three buildings.
Immediately following its acquisition of Fountain Square, Bridge signed two new long-term leases totaling 132,300 square feet within the existing buildings, bringing the total occupancy of the center up from 40% to approximately 60%. The transactions included:
- A 98,400-square-foot lease with Bulletproof Logistics, a Quebec-based third-party logistics company. The transaction marks the company's third US location, and its first in the Chicago area.
- A 33,900-square-foot lease with Industrial Battery Products, a St. Louis-based forklift industrial battery distributor.
The Fountain Square acquisition was brokered by a Colliers International investment sales team led by Jeff Devine and Steven Disse. Bridge has a Colliers leasing team led by Jim Estes and David Bercu as the exclusive marketing and leasing agent for the property. The same team served as leasing agent under the previous ownership.
Bridge has owned and developed approximately five million square feet of industrial real estate within the I-55 submarket.
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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.
