TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2010

3PL buys Northlake site

by Paula Widholm
Chicago -> O'Hare

165 W. Lake St. Northlake

The old cliche "good things come to those who wait" certainly proved true for Go To Logistics. The family owned firm shopped for a new headquarters location in the O'Hare and surrounding industrial markets for more than two years before buying a 13-acre site at 165 W. Lake St. in Northlake for nearly $3.1 million.

"That land value 18 months ago was $15 to $18 per square foot, and they picked it up for $5.80 a square foot," said Brian Carroll, a senior vice president with Grubb & Ellis Co. and the buyer's broker in the sales transaction that closed Jan. 15.

In addition to capitalizing on the plummeted land values in the O'Hare market, the logistics company will also likely grab a great deal on its build-to-suit bid. A 231,000-square-foot building formerly operated by Olmarc Packaging Co. will be razed to make way for a 100,000-square-foot facility-nearly triple the leased space that the firm will be exiting at 2001 Cornell Ave. in Melrose Park.

Caroll said 10 construction firms are vying for the job to construct the freight building, and the owners of Go To Logistics will be deciding on a contractor in early February for a spring groundbreaking.

Although there's abundant spec industrial space available, Carroll said Go To needed heavy trailer storage that spec buildings in the area couldn't accommodate. "Plus, the buyers wanted to own," he said. "They have a lot of cash, and they caught a super deal."

Carroll called the low sale price and BTS deal a golden goose combination. "With the lack of construction jobs, these firms are hammering the numbers to try to get this job," he added.

Larry Goldwasser, vice president of NAI Hiffman and the seller's representative, said the property was put on the market in October 2008 right when land sales took a nosedive. "If it had been one year earlier it would have sold for $15 a square foot overnight," he said. "It's just a sign of the times."

Nonetheless, Goldwasser added that "all parties are happy" with this sales transaction.

Go To Logistics will have three to five acres of land left over which they may sell or hold onto, Carroll said. First Midwest Bank provided financing for the deal. Larry Goldwasser, Larry Much and Jay Maher of NAI Hiffman represented the sellers, private individuals.

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