Brookfield breaks ground on 4-building industrial campus in Back of the Yards

Back of the Yards has a long industrial history — home to the former Union Stock Yard and an abundance of rail lines.

Real estate firm Brookfield Properties is propelling the neighborhood’s next wave of industrial growth with its largest active industrial development in Chicago.

City and project leaders gathered Friday to break ground on Western Works, a $104 million industrial development in the South Side.

The project, at 4435 S. Western Blvd., includes four buildings ranging from 75,000 to 198,000 square feet, and it brings hundreds of temporary and permanent jobs.

Leaders are billing Western Works as the latest project to keep Chicago as a nationwide powerhouse for logistics and manufacturing. The city’s connectivity to major railways, air cargo and other transportation thoroughfares has made it a hub for logistics and other related industries.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the project is “another signal that investments are happening in this great city,” and that “opportunities are growing.”

“With this groundbreaking, we proudly declare that Chicago's Southwest Side is open for business,” he said.

New York-based Brookfield Properties, whose retail division is headquartered in Chicago, has a portfolio that includes office, retail, apartments, hospitality and logistics properties. Some of its local holdings include the Oakbrook Center and Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel.

The firm has about 30 industrial properties in the greater Chicago area, according to Turner Cook, vice president of development at Brookfield.

The four buildings at Western Works will be state-of-the-art facilities, while maintaining the feel of Western Boulevard, Cook said. The buildings will have brick facades facing the street to blend into the character of the corridor.

The properties are being built on spec — or speculation, meaning there’s no secured tenants. Cook said each building could accommodate up to 10 users, ranging from manufacturing, food production, warehousing, distribution or another light industrial use.

The campus will have 87 dock doors and 635 parking spaces. Construction is expected to finish in 2027. The project expects to create 150 construction jobs and 100 permanent full-time positions, according to the city.

Brookfield purchased the 28-acre site in 2021 from Wheatland Tube, a manufacturer of pipes, electrical conduit and other products, for $24.4 million, property records show. Wheatland, part of Chicago-based Zekelman Industries, transferred ownership of its three buildings to Brookfield in a sale-leaseback that allowed Wheatland to stay until it found a new home.

Brookfield has already demolished the former Wheatland buildings, and earthwork is underway. Construction is set to start after Friday's groundbreaking, according to the real estate firm. Preleasing has also begun.

Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) lives across from the project on Western Boulevard. She grew up walking among the former buildings at Western Works, wondering what they were for. Even now, she said it’s hard to summarize what the industrial corridor in her ward means for the city.

“They are a link and a connection to our market,” Ramirez said. “It's one of the strengths of the city, this neighborhood and the people who work amongst them.”

The Western Works site is in the city’s historic Central Manufacturing District, which is often cited as the nation's first planned manufacturing district or industrial park. It’s also in the Stockyards industrial corridor, with direct access to multiple interstates and public transit.

Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Ciere Boatright said Western Works is a “big deal” and a major investment.

The city has been an industrial hotbed for years after COVID-19 accelerated online shopping and logistics needs. Recent first quarter data from commercial real estate firm Avison Young found that availability in industrial buildings has become increasingly limited in the Chicago region — a sign of continued high demand. Overall vacancy sits at 6.1%, with availability for “big-box users” who need more than 500,000 square feet of space at 7.2%.

“This $104 million project is a huge vote of confidence in the Chicago market,” Boatright said. “I want to commend Brookfield for its commitment to this site, the Stockyards industrial corridor and the city's legacy as a transportation and distribution hub.”