Provender Partners Acquires 570,000 Square-Foot Temperature Controlled Facility in Chicago MSA

Firm grows Chicago food-related industrial real estate portfolio to nearly one million square feet in 18 months.

Provender Partners continues to expand its Chicagoland food related-industrial building (FRIB) portfolio with the acquisition of a 570,028-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility with 50 acres of excess land in the Chicago MSA for $30 million.

The property is located at 1125 Sycamore Road in the Village of Manteno, 55 miles south of downtown Chicago. Built in 1999, the building is 100% temperature controlled accommodating a wide array of uses. It also features 41-foot clear heights, 84 docks, rail service and 132 trailer stalls. Within a single day’s truck drive of the Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Des Moines, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis metro area, the cross-dock facility serves as the centralized Midwest distribution center for McKesson’s pharmaceutical supply chain.

The acquisition also includes 50 acres of excess land, which is fully entitled for the development of an additional 620,000 square feet of industrial space. Provender is considering several options for the land including future expansion of the existing building, speculative or a build-to-suit industrial development.

The Provender Midwest Distribution Center is the fourth and largest FRIB asset acquired by Provender Partners in the Chicagoland metro in the past 18 months. After entering the market in May 2020 with the acquisition of a 141,000-square-foot food processing facility in Berkeley, IL, 100 percent leased to Preferred Meals, Inc., Provender’s portfolio now totals 906,000 square feet of food related industrial buildings.

Two of those assets, an 81,000-square-foot meat processing facility in Bolingbrook and a 95,000-square-foot Tri-Temp building in Lake Zurich were vacant at the time of acquisition. After speculative upgrades, Provender leased up both buildings to HelloFresh (Lake Zurich) and a pre-prepared meal manufacturer (Bolingbrook).

“Cold storage is largely a function of population and food manufacturing, and as one of the largest food manufacturing hubs in the country, it is obvious the vital role Illinois/Chicagoland plays in the country’s food supply chain,” said Provender Partners CEO and Founder Neil Johnson. “We will continue to invest in the area’s Cold Chain opportunistically, whether that be in cold storage or food manufacturing facilities.”

Will Mura, Vice President for CBRE’s Industrial & Logistics Services Team in the firm’s St. Louis office marketed the property for sale on behalf of the seller.