Palatine approves revised warehouse plan, but developer won't reveal who's moving in

This is an artist's rendering for a warehouse and distribution center at 317 S. Hicks Road in Palatine approved by the village council this week. The project's developer says the company that would occupy the building must remain a mystery to the public for now. The property borders Northrop Grumman Corp. in Rolling Meadows. Courtesy of village of Palatine

A shroud of mystery hangs over a revised proposal for a warehouse and distribution center near Hicks Road and Northwest Highway in Palatine.

Village council members this week approved an ordinance connected to the site plan for 317 S. Hicks, which borders Northrop Grumman Corp. in Rolling Meadows.

Rosemont-based Conor Commercial Real Estate purchased the 18 acres last summer and demolished the former H.B. Fuller Co. sealant factory to accommodate the warehouse and distribution project.

Under the new plan, the 43-foot-tall building would cover about 162,000 square feet. Conor's original plan, which called for a 337,800-square-foot structure, was approved by the village council in July.

Conor Executive Vice President Brian Quigley spoke to the village council before the vote on the new proposal, but didn't shed light on the business expected to operate from the facility.

"We can't disclose subject to a nondisclosure agreement," Quigley said. "(The company) is so adamant about having more parking on the lot that they're willing to pay for underground (water) detention, which is about a half-million dollars per acre-foot."

Quigley previously said "one big e-commerce company" expressed interest in the property. Conor's warehouse and distribution center, which is being built on speculation, should be completed in September.

The building would have 20 truck loading docks and a 644-space parking lot. The proposed facility would be used to load vans with packages for distribution in nearby residential neighborhoods and other areas.

Palatine Councilman Tim Millar raised questions about traffic flowing in and out of the proposed facility, in particular potential disruption to Palatine Township Elementary Township District 15 buses or additional congestion when trains pass a crossing at Hicks and Northwest Highway.

Eric Russell, a traffic consultant working for Conor, said vehicles would depart the property in stages. They would primarily leave with deliveries from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Russell said a signalized intersection would be used from the property at Hicks and Sellstrom Drive on the north. A one-way exit with left- and right-turn lanes on the south, controlled by a stop sign at Hicks, would be strictly for delivery service vans.

"The exiting of the vehicles is spread over a significant length of time, not so much a surge at that driveway," Russell said. "You've got about 30 vehicles exiting over a 30-minute period."

H.B. Fuller wound down its operations at the sealant plant on the Hicks Road property about three years ago, village officials said.