CRG, the real estate development and investment arm of Chicago-based Clayco, has broken ground on The Cubes at Country Club Hills, a 1,033,450-sq. ft. speculative industrial structure at the intersection of I-57 and I-80 in Country Club Hills. The 70-acre project, which includes 1,000 feet of interstate frontage, will deliver in the second quarter of 2022.
The project is the first CRG industrial development in the Chicago area and the first under the firm’s new fund, U.S. Logistics Fund II (USLF II), which launched this year with the goal of developing state-of-the-art e-commerce and logistics facilities across key U.S. logistics markets.
“Chicago is a top industrial market nationally, and it’s also our home, so this is a special project for all of us,” said Jeff Lanaghan, senior vice-president and Midwest Region industrial leader for CRG. “The Cubes at Country Club Hills is developed, designed, built and financed through our vertically integrated platform with Clayco. It’s a model for all we’re capable of here at CRG and we’re excited to partner with the city of Country Club Hills to deliver this project.”
The facility was designed by CRG’s integrated partner and architecture firm Lamar Johnson Collaborative and Clayco will lead construction.
USLF II blends institutional capital with investments from high-net worth individuals, family offices, wealth management advisers and other accredited investors to expand access to projects like The Cubes at Country Club Hills. The fund is targeting $1.5 billion in new facilities over the next three years with a target of 10% investment from diverse investors, meaning women and people of color.
This initiative builds upon Clayco’s industry-leading diversity and inclusion program, Clayco Rising, the company says in a statement. “The program prioritizes diverse vendor and workforce participation on projects like The Cubes at Country Club Hills, which is striving to achieve a 26% minority-business enterprise and 6% women’s business enterprise inclusion while hiring a workforce representative of the local community.”
“We’re already leaders in inclusion and diverse workforce initiatives on our projects, so it’s time for that to extend to how our projects are funded,” said Shawn Clark, president at CRG. “The Cubes at Country Club Hills is a model for us going forward, to expand access across the entire lifecycle of our projects so that underrepresented groups can truly participate at every stage. This is a step toward greater inclusion for our industry and, we hope, greater equity as well.”
The building includes 40-foot clear heights, cross-dock configuration, 239 trailer parking stalls, 128 exterior docks (expandable to 235) and 212 car parking spaces (expandable to 382).
