CenterPoint Properties Trust recently announced that it has been awarded a long-term land lease on the grounds of O’Hare International Airport and $50 million in tax-exempt bonds authorized by the City of Chicago, Department of Aviation. The company intends to build approximately 800,000 sq. ft. of air-freight/freight forwarding facilities. Located on the north side of O’Hare, the future project will be called O’Hare Express North. Construction is anticipated to begin in October 2001.

The City has granted CenterPoint the right to sell special facility revenue bonds (tax-exempt bonds) in the amount of $50 million to finance the entire project. These bonds are identical to CenterPoint’s $44 million of tax-exempt bonds issued for O’Hare Express Center, a 50-acre on-airport facility, which today bear an interest rate of 3.15%. The project will be built in several phases over the next three years.

"This development project further demonstrates O’Hare’s importance to the region and global economy through air-freight," said aviation commissioner, Thomas R. Walker. "With more than 65 international destinations served, O’Hare’s route network creates a unique environment for growth."

Including its recently completed O’Hare Express Center development, located on the south side of the airport, CenterPoint’s total development on the grounds of O’Hare will be approximately 112 acres, including 10 buildings totaling 1.8 million sq. ft. Additionally, the company owns approximately 2.5 million sq. ft. of "just-off-airport" facilities.

O’Hare Express North is a joint venture with Sphere Development, a prominent, locally based minority-owned firm. Construction services will be provided by FCL Builders Inc. and UBM Inc., one of the largest minority-owned construction firms in the region. The team acted as general contractor for the O’Hare Express Center development. The development program calls for 25 percent minority-owned business participation and 5 percent women-owned business participation, as well as employment of Chicago residents for 50 percent of all trade work. The project is expected to create approximately 900 construction jobs and up to 900 permanent, full-time jobs.

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