CBRE Selected to Lease 6.3 MSF Chicago-Area Industrial Park

Formerly known as RidgePort Logistics Center, the buildings are located on 2,500 acres within 50 miles of central Chicago. The owner plans to greatly expand the park.
Elion Logistics Park 55 Site. Image via Google Maps

Elion Partners has chosen CBRE to oversee leasing operations for the 6.3 million-square-foot Elion Logistics Park 55, a rail-served nine-building industrial park approximately 50 miles southwest of Chicago. The owner had previously marketed the properties as RidgePort Logistics Center.

The logistics park is located on 2,500 acres at the Lorenzo Road entrance to Interstate 55 in Wilmington, Ill., just south of the Kankakee River. The list of tenants includes Michelin, Post and Lineage. In addition to the industrial component, the development is home to several gas stations and a Knights Inn property.

Jeff Kapcheck and Jason Lev, both senior vice presidents with CBRE, will lead leasing efforts. Prior to CBRE’s selection, JLL had marketed the park.

Expanding to meet demand

The existing buildings range from 50,000 to 1.7 million square feet. The newest structure—an 810,900-square-foot warehouse completed in 2018 with expansion potential up to 1.2 million square feet—is the only space currently available for lease. Elion, through its acquisition of land nearby, plans to expand the logistics center to include upwards of 30 million square feet of industrial space. The full site offers 3 miles of exposure alongside the interstate and rail service via BNSF’s Transcontinental Mainline.

The Chicago industrial real estate sector has boomed in recent years, with nearly 14 million square feet underway, according to Yardi Matrix data. Vacancy across the market has tightened in recent quarters, even with numerous speculative deliveries. The I-55 Corridor has remained one of the hottest areas for both industrial development and investment transactions in recent years.

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