SPOTLIGHT ARTICLE

The Herald News:  Business Section

Friday, June 29, 2007

Industrial Park May Mean 12,000 New Jobs

RIDGEPORT LOGISTICS

By Cindy Wojdyla Cain

Staff Writer

WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP--

Ridge Properties Trust announced Thursday that it plans to develop a 2,000-acre industrial park off I-55 at Lorenzo Road, which would make it the largest industrial park in the county.

If approved by the city of Wilmington, RidgePort Logistics Center--Chicago would consist of more than 20 million square feet of distribution space.

The $1.6 billion project also would include commercial and retail buildings to serve the park`s tenants and residents.

Company officials estimate the project would create more than 12,040 new jobs in the county and another 28,580 jobs in the state.  Potential sales revenue would be an estimated $32.6 billion in the county and $63.5 billion in the state.

"I think it`s huge," John Greuling, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Will County Center for Economic Development, said, "We`re at the center of Main and Main as far as North American logistics is concerned."

Ridge also announced it has a deal with BNSF Railway to provide rail service to its industrial park buildings.  Construction of support tracks will begin this summer, BNSF spokesman Steve Forsberg said.

He said BNSF`s transcontinental mainline runs close to the site.  It`s the fastest rail route between Chicago and Los Angeles. 

The project is an example of one of the hottest trends in shipping, Forsberg said.  Trains move goods long distances quickly and cheaply.  Trucks are better at delivering customized loads.  Rising fuel costs and congested highways have made transportation companies search for such partnerships, he said. 

The land`s proximity to the rail line and interstate interchange at Lorenzo Road make it ripe for such a development, said Douglas Hayes, Vice President of Ridge Property Trust of Chicago.

Hayes said he hopes to break ground by the end of the year on a 1 million-square-foot warehouse building.  But first the company must work out an annexation agreement with Wilmington.

"This area has been targeted for industrial warehousing," City Administrator Sheryl Puracchio said.  "This would really put Wilmington on the map as a major player in this industry."

Of the 2,000 acres Ridge needs for the project, the company owns 1,200 and has options to buy another 400.  BNSF owns 260 acres along its rail line. 

"Ridge is negotiating with remaining property owners in the rural area and most are cooperative," Hayes said.

"Most of the folks I`ve talked to don`t want to live side by side with this," he said of the massive development.

The boundaries of the business park would be Lorenzo Road to the north, the Cinder Ridge Golf Course to the south, I-55 to the east, and the rail line to the west.

Forty acres of the site would be set aside for retail and commercial buildings including hotels and, perhaps, a travel service center for trucks and cars.

Hayes said Ridge already has prospective customers who want to be near the BNSF rail line.  And he`s willing to entertain "whoever wants to show up" for retail and commercial.

Ridge started looking at the site more than two years ago and bought its first parcel of land in 2006.

The development would be several miles south of BNSF`s Logistic Park Chicago intermodal, which is a place where containers are transferred between truck and train, in Elwood.  There is a possibility another intermodal would be created at the Ridge site, but Forsberg said no decision has been made.

Truck traffic entering and exiting the existing BNSF intermodal has been an issue for Will County officials, who are hoping state officials will find the money to improve the adjacent Arsenal Road exit off I-55.

Hayes said the Lorenzo Road exit was redone about four years ago, and it can handle the first phase of development at his company`s industrial site.  The state has fast-tracked an I-55 traffic study because of the proposed development.  Both the Lorenzo and Illinois 129 interchanges would have to be improved to accommodate the development.