ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - A 600-acre plot of land in Pontoon Beach, Illinois will become a new 10-building industrial park.

NorthPoint Development, which recently finished a similar project in constructing the Hazelwood Logistics Center, has announced plans for a 7 million square-foot institutional quality industrial park in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. Gateway TradePort will begin taking shape this March when crews break ground on the park’s lead building, Gateway TradePort 1, a 540,000-square-foot building set to be finished by the end of this year.

(Gateway TradePort site plans)

NorthPoint closed on the land purchase on January 31, 2019.

The new group of buildings called Gateway TradePort will be located at the intersection of I-270 and I-255. NorthPoint says it is one of the fastest growing submarkets in the St. Louis area, with more than 5 million square-feet of new industrial warehouses built since 2014.

NorthPoint has retained commercial real estate firm JLL as the exclusive leasing agent and marketer for the project. David Branding, SIOR, managing director of JLL’s industrial real estate platform, has been named the project’s lead leasing agent. The company previously represented NorthPoint’s Hazelwood Logistics Center, which delivered its last of eight fully occupied buildings in July 2018.

NorthPoint has delivered more than 3.7 million square feet of new industrial warehouses in St. Louis. This is the company’s fourth industrial development in this market since 2016, and its first development in St. Louis’ Metro East submarket.

Johan Henriksen, vice president of development for NorthPoint Development, said, “We are excited to work with David and JLL on our proposed Gateway TradePort. This park will complement our offerings on the Missouri side using our formula for success: great location, continuous spec program with flexible building layouts, along with market leading tax abatement for bulk users in the Metro East submarket.”

Pontoon Mayor Mike Pagano said, “The Pontoon Beach Village Board and myself are very excited about the new development coming to Pontoon Beach. Gateway TradePort will bring many construction jobs and many regular jobs after completion. This new development will be very good for all our surrounding communities.”

About NorthPoint Development

A private real estate investment firm focused on outstanding risk adjusted returns through acquiring, developing, and operating industrial properties on a national platform. The firm was founded in 2012 and has developed more than 58 million square feet for tenants such as Chewy.com, Home Depot, Amazon, Walmart, GE, and General Motors.

About JLL

JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. Our vision is to reimagine the world of real estate, creating rewarding opportunities and amazing spaces where people can achieve their ambitions. In doing so, we will build a better tomorrow for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of 88,000 as of September 30, 2018. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com