Black Creek Group, a Denver-based real estate investment manager, announced three new industrial developments in the Chicago area. The projects include a pair of distribution centers near O’Hare with a combined 248,270 square feet and a 131,040-square-foot industrial development in Naperville, Illnois.
“As an inland port with high population density and an established industrial real estate market, Chicago is a core geographic target for us,” said Marty Edmondson, senior vice president, market officer—north central region for Black Creek Group. “As for these three properties, they’re examples of our strategy for creating highly optimized industrial spaces in relatively developed areas.”
The two speculative distribution centers in the O’Hare submarket—a 132,270-square-foot building in Mount Prospect, Illinois and a 116,294-square-foot building in Bensenville, Illinois—are expected to benefit from their proximity to O’Hare International Airport, the second busiest in the country by passengers and sixth busiest by cargo tonnage. “The opportunities in the O’Hare submarket were consistent with our approach of developing modern, high-cube industrial space in land-constrained locations,” said Edmondson, noting that the Bensenville project entails demolishing a smaller, outdated warehouse sitting on part of the combined acreage earmarked for the new facility.
Both buildings can accommodate multiple tenants and will feature 32-foot clear height ceilings and an expandable number of loading docks. The target completion is the first quarter of 2019. CBRE was the broker on the sale of both properties and will be marketing the buildings for Black Creek Group.
The project in Naperville is a speculative, multi-tenant industrial development that Edmondson said reflects Black Creek Group’s strategy of investing in infill industrial properties in already-developed areas. He noted that the site is in the I-88 corridor, a central location in the western suburbs of Chicago.
The location is expected to appeal to tenants that don’t necessarily need to be in close proximity to Chicago’s central business district, but will appreciate the proximity to the densely populated towns of Naperville, Aurora and other surrounding municipalities. The 32-clear height facility is also targeted for completion at the beginning of next year. NAI Hiffman acted as broker on the sale and will be marketing the building for Black Creek Group.
