CHICAGO—Achieving full occupancy is a great moment in the development of a speculative project, but doing so with one of the top companies in the US makes it even better. United Parcel Service has just leased the first spec building at Panattoni Development Co.'s 355 Corporate Center in suburban Lockport. This new building was the developer's first attempt to lure a tenant to the I-355 extension area, which has far more available land than the congested I-55 submarket. “To have a premier global logistics operator like UPS choose this location is a tremendous validation of the project and of the I-355 corridor,” says Jason Rosenberg of Panattoni. “This is the third major lease in a spec building in the corridor this year – there's tremendous momentum in this submarket right now.” Panattoni, already an active developer in the I-55 corridor, expanded its presence to the I-355 corridor with the 50-acre 355 Corporate Center, developing this project with joint venture partner PCCP . They started the project with two speculative light industrial buildings. The UPS building totals 273,640 square feet and features up to 65 docks, four drive-ins and parking for 268 cars. The partners have also completed the second building, which totals 228,690 square feet, with 65 docks, four drive-ins and parking for 240 cars. Both buildings feature 32' clear height, ESFR sprinkler systems, and can be used for distribution or manufacturing. The I-355 corridor has already seen more than 1.1 million square feet of absorption this year, including the new UPS lease, LG Electronics' 363,224 square foot lease and RJW Transportation's 512,265 square foot lease, both just a few miles north of 355 Corporate Center. “Because development in the 355 extension has only started recently, the market has been watching these first couple of developments to gauge the submarket,” says Mark Barbato of Nicolson, Porter & List , who, along with colleague Adam Stokes , represented Panattoni. “These 3 deals, all announced in the first quarter of this year, have launched the I-355 corridor as a premier distribution location.” UPS was represented by Frank Minik and Matt Minik of Jupiter Realty Services .

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I-355 Market Gaining Momentum

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