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Redevelopment of Libertyville industrial area proposed

An industrial area on the east side of Libertyville could get a makeover as part of a proposed redevelopment that includes the first speculative buildings in the village in a few years.

Bridge Development Partners LLC, a Chicago commercial real estate development firm, is seeking preliminary village approval to build two speculative warehouse/distribution buildings on 21 acres along Route 176 at what is known as the Aldridge Business Center.

The site at 804-812 E. Park Ave., would be done in two phases and renamed Bridgepoint Libertyville, according to information provided to the village.

Bridge, which has been involved with several projects in the suburbs, is seeking special use permits and approval of a concept plan in the industrially zoned area. The village's plan commission will consider the matter at 7 p.m. Monday at the village hall, 118 W. Cook Ave.

As proposed, buildings on the western half of the property would be demolished and a new 185,750-square-foot facility with 38 exterior docks and parking for 276 vehicles would be built. The new development would be built around the existing Hanna Cylinder, which has a lease through Dec. 1.

The second part of the project calls for a 220,500-square-foot building with 46 exterior docks on the remaining 11 acres to the east. That would not happen until the existing tenant leaves, according to the proposal.

No zoning change or variations to code are being requested. A special use permit is needed to allow warehousing and storage users, which are “essential to the success” of the project, according to the proposal.

The redevelopment would modernize a functionally obsolete site, according to the proposal.

In Libertyville, there has been a lull in speculative building, which means construction with no specific user in mind, since 2008 with the approval of the Liberty Pointe Corporate Center off Peterson Road on the northwest side. That project by McShane Development Company included a 597,000-square-foot building for Medline Industries and speculative buildings of more than 359,000 square feet.

“It's been a few years,” said Heather Rowe, the village's economic development coordinator. “Until last year, we had quite a bit of space available.”

She said the uptick in occupied space has put pressure on existing industrial facilities and raw land for new projects.

“It's a sign of the demand,” she said of the Bridge proposal.

In material submitted to the village, Bridge says the amount of green area would increase. Trees on the western portion of the project, which abuts a residential area near Seventh Avenue, would be preserved and the landscape buffer increased, according to the plan.

A study predicts a “very modest” increase in traffic and no need for further improvements given existing uses, which include the adjoining Mungo industrial area to the east, according to the proposal.

  A public hearing is scheduled for the redevelopment of an industrial area south of Route 176 in Libertyville to include speculative industrial/distribution facilities. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
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