New Chicago-area net-leased industrial asset purchased by Canadian investment manager

CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2022 – JLL Capital Markets announced that it recently closed the sale of Clarius Park Joliet – Building 2, a new, 906,517-square-foot, Class A industrial facility leased to Lion Electric in the Chicago-area suburb of Joliet, Illinois.

JLL marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership between Clarius Partners, LLC and Walton Street Capital, L.L.C. Avison Young Investment Management acquired the asset. Additionally, a JLL Industrial Brokerage team leased the property to the tenant.

Developed by the seller, the Clarius Park Joliet – Building 2 is home to Lion Electric (NYSE and TSE:LEV), a leader in the design, development and manufacturing of purpose-built all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles. Originally constructed as a speculative building, the property also features a 40-foot clear height, 107 dock-high doors, 16 drive-in doors, 213 trailer stalls, LED lighting, ESFR fire protection and above-average employee parking with the inclusion of an improved adjacent parcel. Once completed in 2022, the facility will represent the largest dedicated production site for zero-emission commercial medium and heavy-duty vehicles in the U.S., with an expected annual production capacity of up to 20,000 vehicles per year.

Clarius Park Joliet – Building 2 is at 3835 Youngs Rd. within the I-80 Industrial submarket, one of Chicago’s top distribution submarkets due to its interstate access, proximity to a large labor base and proximity to downtown Chicago. The unparalleled logistics location is less than one mile from Interstate 55, providing a direct route into downtown Chicago as well as St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans. Additionally, the site is near Interstate 80, which provides connectivity to the entire Midwest.

According to JLL Research, the I-80 Industrial submarket ended the fourth quarter of 2021 with a low 2.9 percent vacancy rate, which is lower than the average rate of 3.5 percent for the Chicago Industrial market. Demand is outpacing supply, and absorption for the Chicago market has topped the combined total for 2019 and 2020.

The JLL Capital Markets Investment Sales and Advisory team that represented the seller was led by Senior Managing Director John Huguenard, Managing Director Sean Devaney and Associate Peter Moriarty. The JLL Industrial Leasing Team led by Executive Vice President Dominic Carbonari, Senior Vice President Rob Wheeler and Vice President Michael Connor assisted in the sales transaction after having completed the lease on behalf of the seller.

“We were excited to work alongside the talented development team of Clarius and Walton Street to help bring this deal full circle,” Devaney said. “The long-term nature of the new lease, coupled with the projected growth in the electric vehicle sector, created a robust and diverse audience of interested investors.

“Given the deal started as a speculative development, the team was able to really push the flexibility of the Class A asset to match a variety of tenant uses well into the future and health of the submarket to help drive best results for the transaction,” he added. “All parties involved in the deal were incredible to work with.”

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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