"Being near transportation hubs was really important to them," Wendy Berger Shapiro, founder of WBS, tells GlobeSt.com. "It's right off Interstate 55, and close to the new Interstate 355 extension and close to Interstate 80, so their search for land was centered in that area. Being close to customer distribution centers was key."

Great Kitchens is a private-label manufacturer which supplies pizzas for mostly grocery and convenience store chains, such as Wal-Mart, Trader Joe's and Costco. "Pizza is a value meal, and the business is doing great in this economy," Shapiro says. "We chose this site in part because we wanted easy access to all transportation, but something a little off the beaten path and of the highway, because it's not the brand people know." The site is located two miles off of I-55, at Airport Road and Chicago Tube Drive.

"Construction took just under a year," Shapiro says. "This building has some very unique features, so it took a bit longer than your typical building." The building offers a culinary center for product research and development, as well as 107,000 square feet of cold storage space, including 50,000 square feet of freezer space, 47,000 square feet of refrigerated production space and 10,000 square feet of cooler space. Shapiro declined to comment on price tag on the building's construction, or on Great Kitchens' lease rate for the space. Average asking lease rates for space in the area range from $4 to $6, net, according to Cushman & Wakefield market research.

The site is in the Will County-southwest suburban submarket. "The market has continued to be very strong, principally driven by its proximity to interstates 355 and 80," Shapiro says. "In our submarket and industrial park, we've seen both spec buildings and build-to-suits going up in the past year. The vacancy rate in this submarket is still below 10%, and it's a highly desirable, strong submarket and location."

Shapiro says the submarket has been strengthened in part by Romeoville's accommodating nature toward new development. "The village of Romeoville has done an excellent job of planning in all of their sectors," Shapiro says. "It hasn't suffered in the ways some other villages and submarkets have, and that's a testament to the village planners. It's an area that's still growing in terms of industrial, commercial and residential."