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ELWOOD, IL-CenterPoint Properties Trust will build two distribution facilities totaling 3.4 million sf for retail giant Wal-Mart in its intermodal center here, signing 15-year leases with options to extend as long as 50 years or purchase the build-to-suits. The Oak Brook-based REIT, the largest industrial owner in the market, stands to collect $11.2 million a year over the life of the lease, or sell to Wal-Mart for a combined $157.4 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The $157.4-million purchase price is good until next summer, when construction is expected to be completed and Wal-Mart is scheduled to take possession of the buildings. Otherwise, the price becomes $203 million when the initial leases expire in 2020, according to CenterPoint Properties Trust's SEC filing.

The two buildings will nearly eclipse the amount of space CenterPoint Properties Trust has constructed at its intermodal center since it opened in September 2002. The distribution buildings will be built on 168 of the 730 acres remaining to be developed at the industrial park, which is connected to a Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line.

"Distribution costs are minimized if goods are moved in containers by rail long distance, then quickly relocated and de-containerized in facilities in the park, and reshipped regionally by truck," says CenterPoint Properties Trust president and chief executive officer Michael Mullen. "This is becoming the new distribution paradigm and Chicago and CenterPoint are benefiting. Our region is the third largest container 'hub' in the world and the dominant North American hub for distribution."

The first building will be ready for Wal-Mart in June 2006 while the second will be occupied during August.

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CenterPoint Signs $168M BTS Deal With Wal-Mart

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