A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Sept. 27 to mark the commencement of the new INland Logistics Port within Kingsbury Industrial Park in La Porte, Ind.
Located just 45 miles southeast of Chicago, the INland Logistics Port at Kingsbury (ILP-K) is a 625-acre dual rail served logistics park providing rail and truck access to the Upper Midwest Consumption zone that reaches 41 million people in one day’s drive. The groundbreaking begins Phase 1 of the park’s infrastructure including rail connectivity to the CSX main line and rail improvements within the logistics park making it qualify for the CSX Select Site designation. A $6 million rail funding agreement by the La Porte County Council, La Porte County Commissioners and La Porte County Redevelopment Commission made the rail connection possible.
INland Logistics Port at Kingsbury is zoned for heavy industrial uses. The abundant utilities and complex infrastructure is designed to support a variety of distribution and manufacturing users with parcels ranging from 10 to 200 acres. J.D. Salazar of Champion Realty Advisors is spearheading the marketing efforts for ILP-K.
According to Jeffrey Wagoner, industrial development manager for CSXT, “ILP-Kingsbury will be served by CSX Transportation via a dedicated connection to its Chicago to New York main line. Occupants of ILP-Kingsbury will benefit from direct-rail access with the capacity for unit train shipments as well as from the property’s refrigerated warehousing and regional distribution capabilities. Sites within the park have flexibility to handle multiple uses including manufacturing, processing and bulk storage.”
“This is a great opportunity for us. La Porte County is now open for business,” said Bert Cook, executive director of Greater La Porte Economic Development Corp. “By adding this new transportation connection to CSXT, we now have the zoning, utilities, land and ample workforce; everything necessary for companies to be competitive in today’s marketplace.”
The infrastructure improvements being constructed by Providence Logistics will allow CSXT to offer daily manifest rail service and unit train service to ILP-K. This will be the closest location to Chicago for this type of service on the CSX network.
“The ability for Unit Train Service at the INland Logistics Port-Kingsbury will revolutionize how products move to and from the Upper Midwest, specifically Northwest Indiana. Companies locating at ILP-K will benefit from the CSXT rail connection by expediting their products to market, increase product freshness for food related customers, and optimize transportation costs. Additional benefits of the CSXT service include reliable daily train service and a lower carbon footprint,” said Chris McGrath, partner at Providence Logistics.
For more information on the logistics park, visit www.ilpkingsbury.com.