Demand Along I-55 Triggers Spec Plans

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BOLINGBROOK, IL-Atlanta-based developer Seefried Properties has completed the lease up of its first building at Veterans Corporate Center, located along I-55 at 380 Veterans Parkway. Plans for a second facility are now under way. Veterans Corporate Center Building I was completed in September 2005. Orbus Inc. leased 126,872 sf for a production center for its trade show and display materials. The remainder of Building I, 62,263 sf, is leased by Banta Publishing Group, a division of Banta Corp.

David Bercu and Carter Andrus, brokers with Colliers, Bennett & Kahnweiler, represented Seefried in the transaction. Jack Rosenberg and Fred Regnery, also of CB&K, represented Orbus in negotiating the deal.

Craig Phillips, regional vice president for Seefried in Chicago, says that Veterans Corporate Center Building II will total 189,134 sf with four units available for sale or lease. Groundbreaking is planned for this fall. Phillips tells GlobeSt.com that a general contractor has not yet been selected. “The cost of construction has increased so much in the last six to nine months that I’m sure that will affect the final cost of building this second facility.”

Phillips adds that he has seen a jump in activity in this submarket in recent months. “In many ways this has been a tenant’s market with so much product available,” he says. “It can create a downward push with rental rates. At the same time, there’s not too much vacant land left in this area for the creation of more new product.”

Phillips explains that Seefried has been in the Chicagoland market for about three years. The firm has had a national expansion and now has seven offices located throughout the US. Seefried will expand locally in the Chicagoland market by breaking ground this fall in Bensenville with three buildings that will cater to third-party logistics firms. “We like Bensenville due to its proximity to O’Hare and its lower DuPage County taxes,” says Phillips. O’Hare Logistics Center and Meyer Road Business Center will fulfill a need in the O’Hare submarket, according to Phillips. “There is a scarcity of product for state-of-the-art facilities that will cater to air freight cargo tenants.”