The Opus Group® and USAA Real Estate Company Announce Completion and Lease at I-88 Gateway Logistics Center

​CHICAGO –The Opus Group (Opus) and USAA Real Estate Company announced today that Midwest Warehouse & Distribution System, Inc. (Midwest Warehouse) has signed a long-term lease agreement at the I-88 Gateway Logistics Center – a recently completed speculative industrial building in North Aurora, Illinois. Midwest Warehouse will be the sole tenant, leasing the entire 604,565-square-foot building.

“We’re extremely pleased to have secured this long-term lease, and look forward to working with Midwest Warehouse to customize this large bulk space to meet their business needs,” said Mike Yungerman, vice president of real estate development for Opus Development Company, L.L.C. “We’ve seen a significant decrease in industrial vacancies in the region and are proud to help fill that void with this project and others in the Midwest.”

Completed in October 2014, the I-88 Gateway Logistics Center is located on 32 acres of land and features 32-foot clear height, 60 docks, 103 trailer parking spaces, ESFR sprinkler system and T5 lighting.

“With the tremendous amount of activity occurring in the I-88 corridor we feel the timing of this transaction could not have been better,” said David Reahl, managing director of investments for USAA Real Estate Company. “We are excited about the success of the project and look forward to welcoming Midwest Warehouse as a new tenant into our portfolio.”

Based out of Woodridge, Illinois, Midwest Warehouse provides third-party logistics including warehouse and distribution services for companies across the Midwest. The company is anticipated to move in to the building in Q2 2015, prior to which Opus Design Build, L.L.C. will complete tenant improvements to customize the food-grade facility for the company’s distribution needs, including installing a guard house and additional docks.

“We’re excited to announce the start-up of this new facility and are fortunate to be working with such great companies as USAA Real Estate and the Opus Group.” said Ed Borkowski, president of Midwest Warehouse & Distribution System, Inc. “This facility provides state-of-the-art design, excellent accessibility, and will provide more than 75,000 rack positions for our customers.”

Opus owns an additional 25 acres of land within the park that is available for building expansion or future build-to-suit opportunities of up to 450,000 square feet.

Opus Development Company, L.L.C. was the developer, Opus Design Build, L.L.C. was the design-builder, Opus AE Group, L.L.C. was the architect and engineer of record and USAA Real Estate Company owns the building. Tim Thompson of HSA Commercial Real Estate represented Midwest Warehouse in the lease transaction and Brandon Kelly and Todd Heine of Avison Young were the listing brokers.

About The Opus Group
The Opus Group® is a family of commercial real estate development, construction and design companies headquartered in Minneapolis with offices and projects across the country. Opus operates as an integrated, multidisciplinary team with expertise in development, capital markets and finance; project management and construction; architecture, engineering and interior design. The Opus Group includes Opus Holding, L.L.C. and its operating subsidiaries: Opus Development Company, L.L.C., Opus Design Build, L.L.C. and Opus AE Group, L.L.C. Specializing in office, industrial, retail, institutional, residential and government projects, The Opus Group has broad capabilities, deep experience and a proven design-build model that delivers solutions for customers on time and on budget. For more information, visit www.opus-group.com and follow @TheOpusGroup on Twitter.

About USAA Real Estate Company
USAA Real Estate Company, with approximately $12 billion in assets under management, provides co-investment, acquisition, build-to-suit and development services for corporate and institutional investors.  The USAA portfolio consists of office, industrial, multi-family, retail and hotel properties, as well as investments in real estate operating companies. USAA Real Estate Company is a subsidiary of USAA, a leading financial services company, serving military families since 1922. For more information, please visit www.usrealco.com.