Lockport, Oakbrook Terrace, Des Plaines projects planned

Lockport, Oakbrook Terrace, Des Plaines projects planned

Despite the economic downturn, some developers continue to press on with various suburban projects, ranging from an industrial facility in Lockport to the reconfiguring of a shopping area in Oakbrook Terrace to a multifaceted plan in Des Plaines.

But while one is counting on the lure of wide exposure on a new tollway in a rapidly developing area, tax rebates or special financing districts may help fund the other developments.

With a prime location at the I-355 interchange with 143rd Street and a half-mile of tollway exposure, Heritage is expected to take off. In fact, M.L. Realty Partners is progressing with site work even though there are still no tenants for Heritage Crossing.

Peter Harmon, executive vice president of Itasca-based M.L. Realty, cited that project’s attractive features:
• Ideal space for warehousing, distribution, logistics and manufacturing companies;
• Easy access to/from major interstates;
• Low Will County real estate taxes;
• Surrounded by a robust labor force.

Situated in what Harmon called one of the best submarkets in the Chicago area, Heritage Crossing is a 228-acre business park that’s also bounded by 151st Street and Lemont Road in Lockport.

The park, which is being marketed by NAI Hiffman, will include 12 buildings ranging in size from 65,000 square-feet to 485,000 square-feet and include a total of more than 2 million square-feet. Work on roads and other infrastructure has begun.

Construction on those two buildings is expected to begin this summer and be completed early in 2009.

“We do not have tenants for the first two buildings, but that is not a problem because there is a short delivery time for these type of buildings,” Harmon said.

The park is expected to take five or more years to complete.

Harmon said his park is different from other industrial areas along I-80 where there are buildings from 600,000 to one million square-feet in area.

“We are not competing with them,” he said, noting that his company’s position is to provide flexibility in a brand new market south of I-55 along the new I-355 extension through northwestern Will County.

Strategically located in the center of the nation’s transportation network, the business park will provide industrial users with coast-to-coast access for the entire United States, according to the executive. Interstates 55 and 80 are located within minutes of the property to provide quick and easy access to the Chicago metro area.

Oakbrook Terrace redevelopment

Another strategic site in a different suburb, Oakbrook Terrace, is scheduled to be redeveloped as a shopping center at the southwest corner of Roosevelt and Summit. The name will be changed from Oakbrook Square Mall to Oakbrook Terrace Square.

An existing Dominick’s will remain there but will be reconfigured. Also, an existing Harris Bank will be relocated on the site. The status of the other tenants in the 155,000-square-foot mall has not been determined.

The executive with the mall’s owner, Frontier Development Group of St. Charles, said he was in discussions, not negotiations, with other existing tenants. Curt Hurst, the owner and president of the developer, said some demolition could begin this summer.

Hurst, who said he has been in the real estate business for 20 years, indicated plans for new tenants could include two junior anchor tenants of about 20,000 square-feet each.

“I am looking for two national retail companies, but that does not mean that there might not be a local retailer,” he said.

Oakbrook Terrace officials have plans to create a business district on the 13-acre site to help pay for the redevelopment, which will also include funds from the developer. If approval is received, a 1 per cent sales tax will be added on products purchased at stores within the district, except for groceries and drugs, according to Martin Bourke, city administrator.

The extra revenue from the tax would help fund improvements to the center, which was opened in the 1960s, and has had several different owners, Bourke said. The city’s current sales tax rate is 8.25 percent.

Des Plaines redo

Des Plaines is in the early stages of planning for a special taxing district for a 70-acre area bordering Gulf Road, Rand Road and the Des Plaines River. The concept has some existing business owners concerned about what will happen to them.

“The project is pretty complex and includes a mix of uses, including manufacturing and retail, and includes many parts which are blighted,” said to Michael Conlan, community and economic development director for the northwest suburban city.

He said the project is being driven by the need in Des Plaines for a big box retailer. Conlan said he could not give any names of possible retailers of this type, noting, however, that they like the location, but they do not like the site.”

The city official said there has not been a lot of land assembled yet in the plan which is in the early stages of several different design possibilities by a consultant.

“Some times land assemblage can be problematic,” Conlan said. “The area includes a mixed bag of businesses, some of which we need to take out of the area,” Conlan said.

Dan McLeister, Contributing Writer

Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 (Archive on Monday, June 30, 2008)
Posted by jstoltz Contributed by jstoltz

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