Meanwhile, Mullen declines to confirm a published report that the REIT is eyeing an abandoned Kansas City, MO, area airport for redevelopment as an industrial park. "It's a very interesting opportunity," he offers.
However, co-chairman and CEO John S. Gates Jr. concedes the company's development team is certainly experienced enough to branch out beyond the Chicago market, where it has a 31.7-million-sf portfolio.
Closer to home, Mullen says the Chicago area opportunity will be similar to its nascent redevelopment in southwest suburban McCook, where demolition of a former Reynolds Aluminum plant is among the first steps toward an eventual 33-acre, 550,000-sf project. "The project is like McCook, with a redevelopment component that will take two to five years to complete, with the abundant amount of land that comes into it and is priced into the deal," Mullen says.
Making that deal more attractive is a "Fortune 500 credit" tenant, according to Mullen, that is lined up to lease the entire facility at closing.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.