In the face of economic uncertainty and a tight credit market, ML Realty Partners is optimistic about the future of Heritage Crossing Corporate Center as it starts work on the 228-acre business park in south suburban Lockport.
ML Realty has yet to attract a tenant. But the real estate developer, which has a strong track record of growth, thinks the business park will be helped by its location, at Interstate Highway 355 and 143rd Street.
“It has incredible access to the city of Chicago and the south,” said Peter Harmon, executive vice president of the company. “We are building distribution facilities in an area that has no supply.”
Since it was formed in 2002, the Itasca-based company says, its portfolio has grown to 8.5 million square feet, most of that in industrial space.
Heritage Crossing will focus on light industrial tenants, companies that need a distribution center and possibly offices. A dozen buildings totaling 2.6 million square feet are planned for the project, which is expected to take five to eight years to build, Harmon said.
Work on roads and other infrastructure is scheduled to begin in a couple of weeks, the firm said. Construction of two buildings, one with 65,000 square feet of space and the other with 495,000 square feet, will begin in midsummer and is expected to be completed in early 2009, Harmon said.
NAI Hiffman is marketing the project.
ML Realty believes the business park’s environmentally friendly design also will attract tenants.
“We will have abundant green space with walking trails,” Harmon said. “We are maintaining an existing marshland.”
He said the buildings will feature high-end architectural features and will be certified as green by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the benchmark for environmental construction.
St. Charles business park: Chicago-based JCF Real Estate has plans for a 50-acre corporate business park in west suburban St. Charles.
Plans call for two single-story 15,000-square-foot office buildings and one three-story 45,000-square-foot office structure. The developers say they expect to eventually build 600,000 square feet of office space.
The project, on Illinois Highway 64 a half mile west of Randall Road, is called The Corporate Reserve of St. Charles.
JCF hopes the park’s location in a community in the Fox River Valley, which is known for golf courses and homes, will attract businesses.
“For years, executives living in the St. Charles area have endured commutes of 45 minutes or longer to their offices in Naperville, Oak Brook and Chicago,” said Steve Chrastka, vice president of leasing for JCF.
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rmanor@tribune.com
