Bridge Development Partners LLC is bringing in 2015 with a major new industrial park redevelopment in Waukegan at the former 225-acre Cardinal Health Inc. campus on Waukegan Road.
The land, recently annexed into the City of Waukegan from unincorporated McGaw Park, Illinois, can accommodate up to 2.8 million square feet of industrial facilities. The campus, located on Waukegan Road, neighbors Fountain Square of Waukegan and lies between Route 137/Buckley Road and Route 120/Belvidere Road, immediately off of Interstate 94. The project is a joint venture of Bridge Development Partners, Hunt Realty Investments, Wanxiang America Real Estate Group and Globe Corporation.
The seller of the park was Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health. The park was founded by American Hospital Supply in the late-1960s and was previously home to Baxter Healthcare and Allegiance Healthcare prior to Cardinal’s acquisition. CBRE’s Keith Puritz, Brett Kroner, Zach Graham and Ryan Bain were the sole brokers in the transaction.
“This was an extremely complex acquisition that required cooperation from many parties over eighteen months from start to finish. It would not have been possible without a seller that was willing to work with us and that cared deeply about the park and the community, as well as a pro-development and pro-business municipality like the City of Waukegan,” said Steve Groetsema of Bridge. “There is a proven track record of success for business parks located so closely to interstate interchanges in Lake County. We are really excited to be reestablishing this park as what we believe will be a go-to destination for industrial users in Lake County because of the environment, the access and the surrounding amenities.” Bridge will begin demolition of existing structures and commence park infrastructure work immediately. Phase I will consist of two speculative facilities totaling 625,600 SF and 400,500 SF which will be available for delivery by fourth quarter 2015. In addition to the first phase of development, the park will feature approximately 100 acres of land, with sites that can accommodate industrial facilities ranging from 40,000 to 1 million square feet.
At a public meeting (quoted in the Lake County News-Sun newspaper) stressing the importance of the new park the alderman who represents the area said “This is probably one of the biggest projects that we’ve had in this community. The city of Waukegan should realize how huge this is, annexing this area. It’s going to bring in jobs, it’s going to bring in new tax revenue.”