Next, Carroll Plan 457,000-SF Retail Center

BELLWOOD, IL-A joint venture between Next Realty Development, based in McLean, VA, and Chicago-based Carroll Properties is planning a 457,000-sf regional retail center, here. Bellwood Station will be developed on a 41-acre site along the Eisenhower Expressway at 25th Avenue. The estimated cost for the project is nearly $90 million, says Robert King, president of Carroll Properties.

The development is expected to have two “big box” anchor retailers, three junior anchors, three out-parcels and about six inline retail spaces, he says. King said they are in talks with national retailers who are “household names” but could not disclose which retailers. Wal-Mart, Home Depot and a Burlington Coat Factory are reportedly some of the possible tenants. The development will be leased by Tracy Harnisch with Next Realty LLC, of which Next Realty Development is an affiliate.Lease rates have not been determined yet, King says. Average asking rates are around $18.12 per sf, according to a recent Marcus & Millichap report.

The Village of Bellwood is acquiring 18 contiguous industrial properties which will then be sold to the joint venture, Bellwood Station LLC. The price that the joint venture is acquiring the property for was not disclosed. Many of the properties are vacant warehouse buildings and trucking companies, King says. Construction on the project will begin once the village has acquired all of the properties, which is expected to take between 12 and 24 months. The property is located in a TIF district, King says.

The joint venture was attracted to the site because of the visibility with the Eisenhower and that Bellwood is an underserved market. “Bellwood is kind of an undiscovered jewel,” King says. Approximately 280,000 cars “pass on the Eisenhower Expressway every day past our site,” he says. The development is expected to generate $4 million in sales tax revenue annually. Additionally, the project is expected to create between 500 and 600 permanent jobs, he says.