Liberty Property Trust has signed a new long-term lease with Caterpillar Logistics Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., for 251,151 square feet of space at 900 Bilter Road, Aurora, Ill. The execution of the lease with Caterpillar, in tandem with the recent lease agreement with Optimum Nutrition for 212,485 square feet of space, brings the LEED Gold warehouse and distribution center to 100 percent occupancy.
“It’s been a very intense 90 days. A tremendous amount of activity has taken place, and the result is that we’ve filled a 463,000 square foot warehouse with two very desirable tenants,” said Don Schoenheider, vice president and city manager, Liberty Property Trust, in a release. “We greatly appreciate their confidence in us as a landlord and we are very focused on completing the TI, lighting and other improvements on the Caterpillar space during the next three months.”
The 463,636-square-foot property was constructed in 2009 on a speculative basis.
Jeff Kapcheck, a principal at Colliers International, along with Mark Bell and Jim Estus, represented Liberty. Traci Buckingham and Jonathan Rudersdorf from CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant in the transaction.
According to Kapcheck, the deal was possible because Optimum declined its expansion rights. Optimum took the back portion of the building, which then allowed Liberty to configure the front to fit Caterpillar’s needs. The firm was looking at buildings in Bolingbrook, Romeoville, and Woodridge, but eventually settled on the Aurora property because it was able to meet its criteria. Caterpillar was searching for a secure truck port. The fact that the building is LEED certified helped as well, says Kapcheck.
The lease is for 10 years and 4 months and was at terms that increased the price per square foot by 30 cents when compared to the Optimum deal that closed in late 2010, says Kapcheck.
Aurora has been a hot market recently as Duke inked a deal with Follett Corporation last week and IDI recently signed H&h Gregg for 247,000 square feet.
Kapcheck says that the skilled labor base in Aurora is attractive for end users.
The property at 900 Bilter is LEED Gold certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for its sustainable design elements, which include energy-reducing features such as fuel efficient heating units, energy efficient light fixtures and increased insulation. Recycled content and materials were also used in the construction of the building. Due to its sustainable design, the building is projected to perform 29 percent more efficiently than a standard code compliant building.
