ProLogis Purchases Seven Properties for $83M

CHICAGO-ProLogis recently bought seven industrial buildings for $83.5 million, from two separate companies, in two of the best markets in the Chicagoland area. The company purchased four properties totaling 660,000 sf in the O'Hare market from S&B Partners LLC, an affiliate of aluminum siding manufacturer Rollex Corp., for $30 million; and bought three distribution centers along Interstate 55 from ML Realty Partners LLC for $53.5 million.

The Rollex buildings in the O'Hare market are all in the Elk Grove Village area. They include 225,000 sf at 1501 Nicholas Blvd., 106,000 sf at 2001 Lunt Ave., 64,000 sf at 2021 Lunt Ave. and 265,000 sf at 1001 Busse Rd. Rollex reportedly will consolidate headquarters, manufacturing and warehouse operations in a new building on Chase Avenue in the village.

The company says it plans to renovate three of the properties. The building at Nicholas Boulevard is vacant, and ProLogis plans to build a new, 260,000-sf distribution center there. The company is heavily invested in the village. In January, ProLogis bought a 670,000-sf facility in January, subsequently leased to UPS; and three distribution centers, totaling about 500,000 sf, in the village and Arlington Heights, purchased from John B. Sanfilippo & Sons.

"The supply of land in the area is increasingly constrained as a result of the airport's expansion program," says Doug Kiersey, senior vice president for capital deployment for ProLogis, in a statement. "Our customers are seeking features not currently supported by older industrial product in the area."

The three I-55 properties are all in Bolingbrook, and total 919,000 sf. The tenants are Samsung Electronics, Quebecor World and Distribution 2000 Inc. "The I-55 submarket is a key area for customers using Chicago as a regional distribution hub," Kiersey says. ProLogis now owns more than 100 properties in Chicagoland with more than 21 million sf.