Target has a deal to occupy a massive under-construction warehouse development in Little Village, another sign of Chicago’s continued industrial strength.
But this project is not without controversy, according to Crain’s, which first reported on the lease deal. Developer Hilco Redevelopment Partners has gotten pushback from the community for the $100 million project to turn the former Crawford Power Plant into a massive warehouse. Critics say it will create too much traffic and pollution.
The project will redevelop the property at 3501 S. Pulaski Road. The exact size of the warehouse was not disclosed, according to Crain’s. The lease deal was signed last year, but had not been previously reported, and surfaced in a report from Colliers International. Cushman & Wakefield had been marketing the development.
The deal highlights the demand for “last-mile” warehouses for retailers. Locations close to the city allow companies to restock more efficiently with less travel time. In September, a 219,000-square-foot shipping facility just south of the Chicago River and developed by Scannell Properties traded for $52 million —or $237 a foot.
And this isn’t the first huge location for Target in the Chicago area. Last year, the company inked the year’s biggest lease in the Chicago market on a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse in Joliet, Crain’s reported, also citing Colliers.
Amazon has also been gobbling up real estate in the area. In late January, the e-commerce giant was considering a $60 million deal to purchase a 40-acre distribution center in Pullman. Earlier that month, it inked a deal to lease a 623,000-square-foot warehouse at Melrose Park. And it also has a 237,000-square-foot facility about 15 miles north of Chicago in Skokie. [Crain’s] — Jacqueline Flynn