Amazon-Linked Lease to Fill Nearly 1M sf McCook Warehouse

Amazon’s data center ambitions are rippling into Chicago’s industrial market.

Crane Worldwide Logistics leased a 992,151-square-foot warehouse in the southwest suburb of McCook, one of the largest recent industrial deals in the region. The Houston-based logistics firm will operate the facility in partnership with Amazon, using the building to store equipment and components destined for Amazon Web Services data centers, according to sources familiar with the deal first reported by Crain’s.

The property is at 9130 West 55th Street and was developed by Chicago-based Bridge Industrial on the site of a former Caterpillar manufacturing plant. Neither Amazon nor Crane commented on the arrangement.

The deal comes as Chicago’s industrial sector is regaining momentum after a slowdown last year. Tariff threats from President Donald Trump rattled warehouse demand in 2025, but recent large leases suggest companies are pushing ahead with expansion plans again, according to the publication.

Several recent deals illustrate the rebound. Woodridge-based RJW Logistics signed a lease in January for a 788,000-square-foot warehouse in Plainfield, part of a rapid growth push that has added 5.5 million square feet of new facilities across the Chicago region in less than two years. Amazon itself added to its regional presence in October, leasing a 575,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Bolingbrook.

Crane’s McCook lease stands out not just for its size but also for the site, as large blocks of newly built industrial space close to Chicago are increasingly rare as municipalities and neighborhoods push back on warehouse construction, according to the outlet. Developers have increasingly shifted big-box projects farther into outer suburban markets where land and approvals are easier to secure. The deal was negotiated by Sam Durkin of JLL on behalf of Crane, while Colliers brokers Matthew Stauber and David Bercu represented Bridge.

Bridge Industrial paid $91.3 million in 2021 for the 87-acre McCook site, demolished the aging Caterpillar plant — long used to manufacture diesel-electric locomotives — and replaced it with two warehouses totaling roughly 1.2 million square feet. Bridge said the lease highlights renewed demand for modern logistics space as large occupiers move to accommodate growth.— Eric Weilbacher