Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and 10th Ward Alderman Sue Sadlowski Garza announced plans for a $169 million industrial complex that will strengthen Chicago’s Southeast Side position as an epicenter of transportation and logistics for the entire Midwest. Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development will take the lead on the project.
“As Chicago continues to strengthen its economy, the city is working to ensure each of our neighborhoods grow with us,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Today marks the latest investment in the Southeast Side that will create more jobs and more opportunities for this community while keeping us on the cutting edge of a dynamic industry.”
Planned for a 196-acre site at 116th Street and Avenue O, the 2.2 million-square-foot project is planned to include six state-of-the art industrial buildings ranging in size from 215,000 square feet to 600,000 square feet. Each new building would be for one or more firms, starting with a 361,000-square-foot structure to be built on spec on the 12200 block of South Burley Avenue.
The new structures will complement NorthPoint’s adjacent, 155-acre supplier park that serves Ford’s nearby Torrence Avenue assembly plant, creating one of the largest industrial parks in Chicago. Tenants would leverage the site’s location at the nexus of numerous interstate and rail lines within the Lake Calumet Industrial Corridor. More than 1,300 permanent and 650 construction jobs are expected to be generated by the project.
“This is a major project that will create good jobs in the 10th ward,” Ald. Sadlowski Garza said. “And even more than that—it demonstrates the progress we are making to strengthen the ward and drive new investment and economic growth.”
City support for the project is proposed to include $25.3 million in TIF assistance, which would be applied toward roadways and related site improvement costs. The assistance will be introduced for consideration by the Community Development Commission and City Council later this year. The project also requires approval by the Chicago Plan Commission.
NorthPoint Development is a real estate development, management and leasing firm that is principally focused on industrial, multifamily and senior living markets. The company has developed approximately 50 million square feet of Class A industrial space throughout the United States.
One quarter of all employment in Chicago’s 26 industrial corridors involve the moving and storage of goods, wholesale trade and construction, totaling more than 33,000 jobs in 2015.
