Logistics Property Co. Starts 665 KSF Chicago Project

Oak Forest Logistics Center. Image courtesy of Logistics Property Co.

Logistics Property Co. has broken ground on Oak Forest Logistics Center, a 664,453-square-foot industrial building located at 16799 Cicero Ave. in Oak Forest, Ill.

The developer has tapped Architects Plus Design Studio, PLLC to design the facility, SPACECO, Inc. for the property’s civil engineering. FCL Builders will serve as the project’s general contractor, and Cushman & Wakefield will manage leasing at the completed facility. The complex is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter.

Oak Forest Logistics Center marks the developer’s 11th project in metro Chicago, following its closing of Venture Two LP, a $1.8 billion fund that targets developments in fast-growing U.S. markets. Prior to the closing, the firm began construction on Butterfield Distribution Center and 2800 W. Diehl Road, two projects in Aurora that total 663,867 square feet.

Oak Forest’s features

At full build-out, Oak Forest Logistics Center will include 117 exterior loading docks with four drive-in doors, which will be flanked by 625 parking spaces. Inside, the building will feature 40-foot clear heights housing 54-foot by 52-foot column spacing, as well as 54-foot by 71-foot speed bays, with the option to add build-to-suit office space. The facility is slated for LEED certification.

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The facility will be situated adjacent to a cluster of highways that leads to Interstates 57 and 80. Oak Forest has direct access to State Route 57, which connects to U.S. Routes 5 and 6. Industrial properties operated by Amazon and CJ Logistics are a half-mile southeast. Downtown Chicago is 20 miles to the north, and the facility is within a day’s drive of many of the Midwest’s largest markets.

Cushman & Wakefield Executive Vice Chair Jason West, Vice Chair Sean Henrick and Managing Director Ryan Klink will serve as the property’s leasing brokers.

Industrial upswing

As of May 2023, Chicago had the nation’s fourth-largest industrial pipeline, with 24.49 million square feet of projects, according to a CommercialEdge report. The market’s year-to-date transaction volume of $414 million is the region’s largest and seventh in the U.S.

These fundamentals contribute to the market’s 4.2 percent vacancy rate, 30 basis points above the national average.

On the investment front, Venture One Real Estate has completed its purchase of the Amhurst Lake Business Park, a 404,953-square-foot complex in Waukegan. Two months prior, a joint venture between PCCP and Stotan Industrial added to the area’s development starts with the groundbreaking of a 100,400-square foot project in Mount Prospect.