CHICAGO—Over two decades ago, Podolsky|Circle CORFAC International acquired 36 acres of land at Orchard Rd. and I-88 in west suburban Aurora that for years seemed too far west to be of much interest to industrial users.
But the Riverwoods, IL-based company has just unveiled plans for a 45,000 square-foot industrial spec building on 2.7 acres at the site, now known as Orchard 88 Business Park, and the sale of another 9.7 acres to the Missner Group, which may soon break ground on its own 185,000 square-foot spec building.
“For a while there was an invisible boundary just to the east of us,” Randy D. Podolsky, managing principal, tells GlobeSt.com. “But the market is showing us that this is now a solid location.”
Although much of the latest industrial development in the Chicago region has taken place to the south and east along I-55, the I-88/Fox Valley area is starting to get its share. In the first quarter, for example, Liberty Property Trust finished a 429,756 square-foot spec project at 300 Mitchell Rd. in North Aurora, according to Colliers International. UTI Integrated Logistics has already agreed to occupy 201,300 square feet in the building.
Podolsky adds that their new 45,000 square foot building will be unique in the market. “No one else has built something this size with 28' clear ceilings; everything is 24' or less.” The company expects to break ground on the project later this summer and market it for a single tenant.
Buying land on the periphery of a metro area is “not for the faint of heart,” Podolsky notes. It was not until the 2006 development of the USA Athletic Club and Spa and the 2007 development of the Candlewood Suites hotel that Orchard 88 started to fulfill its promise. But the recession then put things on hold for several additional years.
“We were slated to build four more buildings on the site,” but then Missner came along and “made an offer, about $5 per square foot, that made sense.”
Brian Kling with Colliers represented Missner in the land transaction.
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