The transformation of the former Marshall Field's warehouse that stands over the Pulaski and Diversey intersection made a giant leap forward today with the grand opening of the new Cermak Fresh Market grocery store in the building's ground level. The grocer, which currently has a dozen stores in the Chicago area, now occupies about 70,000 square feet in the old warehouse which is being redeveloped and rebranded as The Field's. However, Cermak won't be the only major business to set up shop in the industrial complex. Commercial brokers Cushman & Wakefield hope that the development will become something like the Merchandise Mart or 600 W. Chicago of the northwest side.

Similar to other large industrial buildings that are rooted in the city's merchandising history, the former Marshall Field's warehouse complex features large floor plates. Dubbed a "superwide" by Cushman reps, the warehouse boasts floors that offer 175,000-square-feet of space. Commercial tenants, primarily tech companies, have been a major driver behind the rebirth of many older industrial facilities with large floor plates. Many of the warehouses in the Fulton Market area have been overhauled for tech companies, meanwhile, Goose Island's inventory of large industrial buildings are being made over to meet the needs of new commercial tenants.

Both the Merchandise Mart and 600 W. Chicago are nearly fully leased. And both of these buildings have strategic advantages by being in or right outside of the central business district. The Field's is not exactly within walking distance of mass transit (about a 25 minute walk to the Belmont Blue Line station), but the development will offer shuttle service—something that 600 W. Chicago also provides. So will the building become the next major job center for the Avondale and Hermosa areas? If all goes according to plan, the building could eventually see the creation of 1,000 new jobs.