Plan for massive industrial park approved in Vernon Hills

An industrial park containing up to 1 million square feet of new building space — much of it planned for a single user — has been approved for the expansive former American Hotel Register property on Milwaukee Avenue in Vernon Hills.

Including an existing warehouse, the 70-acre Vernon hills Industrial Park could total about 1.2 million square feet in five buildings, following approvals Tuesday by the village board.

Property owner JCA Hayes LLC has been pursuing the project at 100-230 S. Milwaukee Ave., in the Continental Executive Parke, since late 2024.

The approved plan for the site once scouted by Amazon calls for three speculative buildings, use of an existing warehouse and a huge build-to-suit facility for hand2mind, a sister company of tariff-busting Learning Resources.

A little over four years ago, an informal presentation for a 5-story, nearly 3 million square foot office/warehouse on the property was made on behalf of an undisclosed Fortune 500 company.

Nicknamed Project Zeus, the public assumed Amazon was the company due to the size of the building. But the proposal was withdrawn before a public hearing with the planning and zoning commission.

Hayes' project originally was presented in December 2024 but has been refined in response to feedback as well as modifications to the site plan for hand2mind.

Zoning approved in 1988 for the Continental Executive Parke anticipated development within the park would be streamlined and not require planning and zoning commission review.

But due to the size of the site and proximity to a residential area, the village determined a meeting with the advisory body would be beneficial, according to Andrew Jennings, community development director.

Concerns included traffic, noise, landscaping and signage for a southern exit drive to separate truck from passenger traffic. The commission recommended approval of the plan with several conditions, including extending a sound wall to screen truck docks.

Developers told the village board last month that four hand2mind facilities in Continental Executive Park are being combined.

The planned nearly 700,000-square-foot warehouse and office would be used to assemble and distribute educational products to schools, retailers and consumers nationwide.

Hand2mind is affiliated with educational toy company Learning Resources, which has long operated in Vernon Hills.

CEO Rick Woldenberg gained national attention as the plaintiff in the successful lawsuit to overturn tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the global tariffs in February.