New logistics facility breaks ground in Batavia

Construction has started on what developers say will be a new "state-of-the-art" logistics facility in Batavia.

The roughly 543,000-square-foot Batavia Logistics Center is being built near the intersection of Kirk Road and Fabyan Parkway and is expected to be completed by the spring of next year.

The warehouse will feature 54 dock doors, four drive-in doors, 117 trailer stalls, 36-foot-clear ceilings, and parking for more than 400 cars.

Velocis, a Dallas-based private equity real estate fund manager, is developing the project in partnership with SCOA Real Estate Partners (SREP). It's the group's fourth development project together in the last two years.

"We are very proud to be partnering with SREP in developing this state-of-the-art facility within the critically important Chicago industrial market," Fred Hamm, co-founder and managing partner at Velocis, said in a news release.

Developers say being located near I-88 and in an area with readily available warehouse labor will make it attractive to industrial tenants.

"High-quality facilities in the Fox Valley submarket are in especially high demand and we anticipate a quick lease-up," said Paul Smith, a Velocis partner.