Alter plans to build 3 million square feet of industrial space at Cornerstone.

GRAYSLAKE, IL—Commercial real estate development firm Alter reports the launch of its mixed-use Cornerstone project that will initially house medical supply company Medline Industries, which will operate out of a new 1.4-million-square-foot facility at the 641-acre campus here next year.

The mixed-use development at Peterson Road and Route 83 will include approximately 3 million square feet of light industrial, research-and-development and office space. Alter officials say that Cornerstone will be built over 12 years in multiple phases in cooperation with the Village of Grayslake, including utility extensions and road enhancements.

The initial phase will be constructed on a 310-acre parcel north of Peterson Road, which will be developed over the next five years.

Medline, headquartered in Northfield, IL, plans to relocate its Libertyville operations to the new facility. In addition, the new Grayslake facility will add 250 more jobs to the operations. The building is scheduled for completion in early 2021.

"This innovative development in central Lake County will be one of the largest master-planned projects in the United States," says Michael Alter, president of Wilmette, IL-based Alter. "The area has become a hub for biotech, pharmaceutical, and packaged goods industries. The development will leverage the growth of Northern Cook and Lake Counties to be a powerful revenue generator for local and county government and schools throughout the life of the development."

Alter states that Medline's new LEED-certified facility at completion, will be the fifth largest warehouse in the world.

"This is a great win for Lake County and Illinois," says Kevin Considine, president and CEO of economic development agency Lake County Partners, "Medline chose Cornerstone over major parks in Indiana and Wisconsin because of the quality of our labor force, our lower taxes, and our transportation infrastructure."

He adds that the Cornerstone project is expected to create 9,000 high quality jobs in Lake County at full build-out.

Founded by William A. Alter in 1955, the company has developed close to 100 million square feet of speculative projects for its own portfolio and build-to-suit facilities for corporate users. This year, Alter has 2.5 million square feet of space under development in national markets.