Spec ahead

by Jenn Danko
Chicago

As developers shy further away from speculative construction, Duke Realty Corp. is staring it down with 503,000 square feet of speculative distribution construction in the southwest industrial submarket of Will County.

The forthcoming "Crossroads 5" facility, located in the Crossroads Business Park in Romeoville, broke ground in September on the largest parcel of land in the park. Once completed, the building will offer immediate access to Interstates 55 and 355, along with close proximity to Interstate 80.

"It is a time when some people are holding off, but the building is a good size range to accommodate small to midsize users," says Steven Schnur, Duke Realty's senior vice president-Chicago. "It's the last good site left in the I-55 submarket so we decided to move forward."

When completed, "Crossroads 5" will bring Duke's development in the park to five buildings totaling nearly 2 million square feet of bulk distribution warehouse space. The facility is expected for delivery in March 2009 and can accommodate either a single or multi-tenant users.

While Schnur says the site has generated interest from perspective tenants, none have committed. But Duke's existing tenant base of Sears Logistics, Hub One Logistics, Atkins Nutritionals, and Triumph Packaging are keeping Schnur optimistic.

"We continue to see a lot of interest in this submarket, because it is ideally situated near the major interstate system linking to all of Metropolitan Chicago. 'Crossroads 5' is one of the few properties available in the Bolingbrook/Romeoville area that offers more than a half million square feet of industrial space," he said in a press release.

The building's dimensions will be 544-feet by 925-feet with a 30-foot clear height, and offers 48 cross docks and extensive trailer and automobile parking. Crossroads 5 is located at the corner of Naperville Road and Schmidt Road, and the Crossroads Business Park is adjacent to Interstate 55.

The leasing agent for "Crossroads 5" is Susan Bergdoll, vice president of leasing in Duke's Chicago office. Larry Johnson, senior vice president, and Mike Mangan, associate in CB Richard Ellis' Oak Brook Office are marketing the building.

Schnur adds that Duke's existing product in Crossroads Business Park is 100 percent leased, giving the company further confidence to move forward.

"Our product down there is all leased up," he says.

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