NAI Hiffman Brokers Sale of 225,000 SF Refrigerated Warehouse and Business in Chicago’s Back of the Yards Neighborhood

 

 Chicago Stockyards Industrial Park,  
a collection of approximately
100 businesses – warehouses,
manufacturing plants and
offices –built on the city's
former Stockyards property. 

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL — NAI Hiffman, the largest independent real estate services firm in the Midwest, has brokered the off-market sale of 1556 W. 43rd St., a 225,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, as well as the business occupying the facility, Ashland Cold Storage, on behalf of both the seller and buyer Karis Cold.

John Basile

Karis Cold has engaged Artico Cold Storage to assume the facility’s operations. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

 John Basile, executive vice president with NAI Hiffman's Industrial Brokerage Group, represented the seller and Karis Cold along with Jay Maher, senior vice president at Nelson Hill.

 

 Karis Cold is a private-equity-backed real estate company focused exclusively on serving the real estate needs of the cold storage industry, acquiring, developing, managing and investing in cold storage facilities nationwide.

Jay Maher

"The owners of 1556 W. 43rd St. asked us to bring in a confidential offer for their refrigerated warehouse. What made the sale highly unconventional is they also wanted us to bring in someone to take over the existing business,” said Basile, who also brokered Karis Cold’s first cold storage acquisition, 5115 S. Millard Ave. in Chicago.

Ashland Cold Storage, 1556 West 43rd Street,
 a 225,000-SF refrigerated warehouse
 in Chicago’s Back of the Yards district

 “We knew that this would be a very complicated transaction and would be too unusual for most institutional investors.

 

"However, having completed previous transactions with Karis Cold in this sector, it was our first call. As a result, Karis Cold was able to get its arms around the issues and provide a solution that made sense for everyone."

 

“The asset's location right outside of downtown is ideal for both food processors in the stockyards and food distributors needing immediate access to the largest concentration of restaurants in the Midwest,” added Maher.

 

The property is situated in the heart of the Chicago Stockyards Industrial Park, Chicago's long-time epicenter for the region's food processors and distributors.

 

The park is a collection of approximately 100 businesses – warehouses, manufacturing plants and offices – built on the city's former Stockyards property. The Stockyards are bounded by Pershing Road, Halsted Avenue, West 47^th Street, and Ashland Avenue.

 

"The current demand for refrigerated warehouses in premier locations is insatiable," said Basile. "As a result, what used to be a niche sector is now being sought by all the major players.

 

Karis Cold Storage, 5115 South Millard Avenue,Chicago IL

"In such a crowded landscape, companies like Karis Cold are able to find extra value by pursuing complicated, off-market opportunities that take a little more time to understand."

 

In all, 1556 W. 43rd St. has 6 million cubic feet of space, 22 truck docks and access to rail service.

 

Services include blast freezing, government certification, import/export services and more. It is located less than 10 miles from downtown Chicago and is minutes to I-55, 1-57 and other major interstates.

 CONTACTS:

Patty Cronin, pcronin@taylorjohnson.com

 (312) 440-3001

Heidi Kushner, hkushner@hiffman.com

 (630) 317-0713

hiffman.com.