WILMINGTON, Ill – One of the largest build-to-suit warehouses in the nation iis being developed near Chicago for Michelin tire company.
Ridge Development announced Michelin, the tire manufacturer, will lease 1.7 million square feet of distribution space to be constructed at the RidgePort Logistics Center in Wilmington, Illinois, 40 miles southwest of Chicago. Construction is scheduled to begin soon, with an expected delivery in mid-2015.
RidgePort, a 1,500-acre, rail-served intermodal park with room for 14 million square feet of industrial, warehousing and logistics buildings, is being developed by Ridge Development, the industrial arm of Transwestern Development Co.
“We are excited to break ground on the Michelin project,” said Jim Martell, president of Ridge Development. “As one of the largest U.S. distribution complexes when fully built out, this project should boost RidgePort to one of the most significant logistics parks in the country.”
JLL’s Keith Stauber, SIOR; Dominic Carbonari, SIOR; Steve Ostrowski; and Rich Thompson brokered the lease on behalf of ownership. The facilities are owned by a joint venture between Ridge Development and a state pension fund advised by Heitman Financial. JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. is providing financing for the construction, which is being spearheaded by Ledcor Group as general contractor.
RidgePort is located three miles south of the Interstate 55 Arsenal Road exit that leads to the BNSF Logistics Park-Chicago in Elwood and Union Pacific-Joliet Intermodal Terminal in Joliet. RidgePort is flanked by more than two miles of BNSF mainline frontage to the west and Interstate 55 to the east. The park would serve as the western terminus of the proposed Illiana Expressway, a toll road that would connect I-55 and I-65 in northern Illinois and Indiana. Located in the Will County Inland Port region, the largest inland container port in North America, RidgePort provides economic incentive packages to qualified companies, has an Enterprise Zone designation and qualifies for a Foreign Trade Zone designation.