Infrastructure expected to spur growth in SW suburbs

Infrastructure expected to spur growth in SW suburbs

Now one of the fastest growing regions in the country, the booming southwest suburban region is relying on its appealing logistics, infrastructure and a diversified economic base to drive its economy.

“We’re looking at the southwest suburbs continuing to be a major inland port and therefore a major economic center for the Chicago area for the next 50 years,” said John Greuling, president and CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development.

The region’s ability to function as an inland port is due to the CenterPoint Properties Intermodal Center in Elwood. The inland port is a redevelopment of the former Joliet Arsenal and is one of the largest developments ever undertaken by the United States.

“Having the CenterPoint Intermodal facility is a phenomenal advantage for the entire region,” said Ivan Baker, Tinley Park director of economic development and board member of the International Economic Development Council.

This distribution center encompasses 2,500 acres and has created more than 3,000 jobs. It features a 770-acre intermodal yard, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Logistics Park-Chicago and 12 million square-feet of industrial and distribution facilities. And it’s taking full advantage of the rebirth of rail as a competitive way of moving goods.

“It demonstrates that this road and steel network that crisscrosses the southwest suburbs is a huge asset,” said MarySue Barrett, president of the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC).

The Intermodal Center has also taken advantage of the area’s agriculture sector, which still encompasses nearly half of the Will County area, by shipping out grain, corn and soybean in the emptied rail containers.

“They are taking advantage of these containers being filled with one of the rare products that countries still want from the United States,” said Lawrence M. Walsh, Will County executive.

Through this method, CenterPoint has figured out a way to profit from the endless amount of empty containers shipped out of the yard each day.

“Will County has basically been the one setting the price on corn and soybeans because of its capability to market directly to Eastern Asia,” said Walsh. “They have been contracting with our people.”

Since the opening of the Intermodal Center in 2002, Will County has added more than 55 million square-feet of industrial space; there are only 115 million square-feet of industrial space in the entire county.

“Just in the last five years we have added 125 percent in terms of square-footage to our industrial base,” Greuling said. “We’re typically known for a fast growing population. That’s slowed down over the last 18 months but our industrial development has not slowed down at all.

“The global shippers still need access to the center of the country and we just happen to be in that location.”

CenterPoint Properties will continue to build on its success as the Midwest’s largest inland port, with two new southwest suburban intermodal centers currently in the planning stages. One is to be located at the southwest corner of Joliet and will cover an area just shy of 4,000 acres. The other is an 850-acre plant in Crete.

The proposed plant in Joliet will utilize the Union Pacific rail line, while the current plant in Elwood runs off the BNSF line. This puts CenterPoint in a position of leverage for the services of either line.

“I’d assume that they will be pitting them against one another, trying to get the best bang for the buck on which one of those lines they’re going to use,” Walsh said.

Other economic drivers for the southwest suburbs are its diversified tax base and its role as a crossroads for major highways and rail lines, especially I-80, the major east-west, coast-to-coast truck route in the northern half of the nation.

“From our perspective, it is location and access to transportation nodes, all of them, that’s driving our economy,” Greuling said. “Will County is enjoying being a part of this whole global economy by playing a major role in the global supply chain.”

The completion last November of the extension of I-355 to I-80 has also created numerous opportunities in the retail, commercial and office sectors. At the north end of the corridor is the IKEA, Bass Pro Shop and the Bolingbrook Promenade, with more commercial and retail planned for the southern section.

Yet, the expansion of a major highway does not come without its challenges. Many exits along 355 between I-55 and I-80 are in need of major renovations, so that travelers can avoid exiting off a six-lane highway onto a two-lane country road.

“We need to be ready to be moving forward along with the plans that are laid out there for the developments that are going to take place,” said Walsh.

These logistical advantages of the southwest area—which will only be exacerbated by the planned south suburban airport in unincorporated Peotone, which could be up and running by 2011—make the southwest suburban region a hotbed for future development.

“It has been a great area for logistics but logistics has not been the whole mainstay of our economy,” Baker said.

Much community effort has been put into creating a diversified economy that builds on multiple sectors.

“It’s extremely important to peel back the layers and recognize that all parts of the region need diversified housing and a diversified economic base,” said Barrett. “I think some regions stumble if they try to be just one thing. We have a lot of selling points.”

Baker also believes that diversification is key to future economic growth.

“People that live here, people that work here, people that want to raise a family here, people who want to own business here, everybody benefits by a broad tax base,” he said.

Additionally, many cities have begun renovations of their downtown areas, utilizing their proximity to commuter rail lines and developing transit-oriented developments.

“Blue Island, Tinley Park, Orland Park, New Lenox, Frankfurt, Mokena— they’ve all really tried to capitalize on the fact they have rail access and are trying to create a higher quality of life in the downtown area,” said Kristi DeLaurentiis, manager of local government and community relations for the MPC.

“They’re trying to reinvest in their downtowns and create them as places of destination, not only for jobs but also in terms of the residential side as well.”

Tinley Park is currently in the planning stage of an underground downtown parking lot. It would be the first of any suburban downtown area.

“To help encourage better transit-oriented development, we knew we needed parking but it didn’t mean that we had to do it all by building a garage,” said Baker. “We’re actually putting it underground and using the same designer as Millennium Park in Chicago.

“More people will be willing to live in a downtown area and take advantage of the amenities of a downtown if there’s more park rather than just a big parking lot.”

With all of these advantages, the region seems poised to weather the current economic downturn and flourish through its expected growth.

“I’ve been telling everybody,” said Greuling, “that we’re going to work our way through the recession and so far, so good.

Jeremy Stoltz, Staff Writer

Posted on Monday, June 09, 2008 (Archive on Monday, June 16, 2008)
Posted by jstoltz Contributed by jstoltz

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