An investment group, controlled by Clayco and Lincolnshire-based Venture One Real Estate LLC, recently acquired from Citizens First National Bank the remaining 350 acres of industrial land at Park 88, the largest business park within the I-39 Logistics Corridor. The land acquisition was financed in part by First Midwest Bank.
“This is the largest sale of industrial land in the Midwest since 2007,” said George Cutro, vice president of market research for the Rosemont office of Colliers International.
“Since the 565-acre Park 88 came on line in 2003, both Clayco and Venture One have been on the development/design-build/marketing team,” said Mark B. Goode, SIOR, principal of Venture One. “Since then, we have been involved with three major projects totaling 2,560,400 square feet including Minneapolis-based Target Corp.’s 1.5 million-square-foot Chicago Distribution Center in 2005 and two facilities for St. Paul-Minn. based 3M Corp. – a 410,400-square-foot distribution center in 2007 and a 650,000-square-foot regional distribution center in 2011.”
The remaining 350 acres at Park 88 include five pad-ready sites that can accommodate buildings of 162,000 square feet, 171,000 square feet, 418,500 square feet, 570,000 square feet, 587,100 square feet and one shovel-ready site for a 1.7 million-square-foot cross-dock distribution facility. Some sites are divisible while others offer the opportunity for contiguous future expansion. When the entire 565-acre park is built out, it will support between 6 million and 7 million square feet of distribution, warehouse, manufacturing, assembly, office and service/retail space.
According to Roy L. Splansky, SIOR, principal of Venture One, the primary reason for Park 88’s success is the teamwork of all stakeholders including the City of DeKalb, DeKalb County and DeKalb-based Milner & Associates Inc.
“It was only with the fast-track cooperation of all team members that we were able to deliver 3M’s 410,000-square-foot build-to-suit in less than six months and its 650,000-square-foot facility in nine months.”
Park 88 is located in the heart of the I-39 Logistics Corridor, 20 miles west of Aurora at the four-way interchange of I-88/Peace Road. It is 10 minutes east of I-39, which provides access to virtually all major interstate highways in Illinois (I-88, I-55, I-74, I-57, I-90, I-80 and I-94) and to all major Midwest distribution hubs in Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Detroit and the Ohio Valley. The site is bounded by Fairview Drive on the south, Peace Road on the east and the Union Pacific Railroad on the west.
