Northern Builders, working in partnership with Affinius Capital, has finalized a long-term lease for a 1,200,000-square-foot industrial facility at Cherry Hill Business Park in Joliet, Illinois. The building, positioned as a modern logistics and industrial asset, is being tailored to the needs of an undisclosed tenant that has committed to the expansive footprint.
The tenant in the transaction was represented by Adam Mitchell and Matt Carolan of JLL. Northern Builders was represented by a Cushman & Wakefield team consisting of Jason West, Sean Henrick, and Ryan Klink. The dual-agency representation underscores the involvement of national brokerage firms on both sides of the lease.
The facility was initially delivered as an 800,000-square-foot speculative shell in December. Following the lease signing, the development is being expanded to reach its current 1.2 million-square-foot program, including approximately 400,000 square feet of convertible freezer-cooler space. The building is also slated to incorporate 21,000 square feet of office space, creating a combined industrial and administrative environment under one roof.
Planned building features include 140 equipped loading docks to support high-volume distribution activity, 316 off-building trailer stalls, and 464 car parking stalls. The facility is designed with a 40-foot clear height, allowing for high-cube racking and efficient material handling, which is particularly important for users in logistics and temperature-controlled storage.
Northern Builders has recently delivered several other ground-up industrial projects. These include a 200,000-square-foot cold storage distribution center for Agile Cold Storage, as well as a 365,000-square-foot build-to-suit that is currently under construction. According to Matthias Trizna, VP of Development for Northern Builders, the firm continues to observe strong demand for larger-footprint specialized industrial assets in this submarket, particularly from users in the cold storage, manufacturing, and processing sectors.
The Joliet lease adds to a growing body of evidence that modern industrial and cold storage facilities remain in demand among occupiers that require both significant scale and specialized infrastructure. The transaction also reinforces the role of Cherry Hill Business Park as a location capable of accommodating large, contemporary industrial requirements.
