First industrial buildings in decades going up in Wheeling

All that dirt being moved near the intersection of Lake-Cook Road and Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling is making way for a $13 million industrial building to be used for logistics, warehouse or manufacturing.

The 181,000-square-foot building and a smaller facility going up at 1075 Chaddick Drive are the first speculative, or "spec" industrial buildings to be constructed in two decades in Wheeling, Economic Development Director John Melaniphy said.

The new industrial development has been spurred by a low vacancy rate across the Northwest suburbs, and builders are keeping up with market demand, Melaniphy said. Wheeling's 14 million square feet of industrial space has about a 6 percent vacancy rate.

Cook County approved a property tax break for Hamilton Partners to construct the building. Under the 6b tax incentive, the property will be assessed at lower levels for the next 12 years.