Industrial Realty Group secured a $64.4 million PNC Bank loan after landing a massive lease from Hyundai Translead in Joliet.
Los Angeles-based Industrial Realty Group inked a deal with Hyundai Translead to lease 1.4 million square feet at the former Caterpillar plant at 2200 Channahon Road in Joliet, according to a press release.
A San Diego-based subsidiary of the South Korean carmaker Hyundai, Hyundai Translead manufactures semi-trailers and heavy duty trucks for the North American market. It will set up shop at the former Caterpillar site, along with a nearby site that was formerly owned by Lion Electric, for a combined 52-acre manufacturing facility in Will County.
Hyundai Translead and state officials announced the lease in March, signalling the major economic investment and job creation the site is expected to bring.
The deal represents a cashflow boost for Industrial Realty Group, the national industrial developer that bought the 69-acre site five years ago. The firm took out a $64.4 million mortgage on the site from PNC Bank after the deal was announced, property records show.
The facility is expected to create 2,500 new jobs and represent a $450 million investment in the county and state, Industrial Realty Group said on Thursday.
The lease was managed by Industrial Realty Group Senior Vice President Onno Steger, the release said. Jerry Sullivan and Ed Wabick of Darwin PW Realty represented the landlord and Shamus Conneely of John Greene Commercial represented Hyundai Translead.
Industrial Realty Group spent $11.5 million to acquire the site in 2021, property records show. The firm paid a little over $3.7 million for a neighboring parcel last year at 2300 Channahon Road, according to property records, which is also encumbered by the loan.
The purchase was part of Industrial Realty Group’s broader 2021 industrial expansion, backed by a $335 million bond offering via Goldman Sachs, the Will County Center for Economic Development reported at the time.
The lease marks a victory for the region’s industrial market and a successful payoff for Industrial Realty Group’s bet on the Joliet site. Leasing activity and rents in the Chicago-area industrial market have remained fairly strong over the last few years, according to a Q4 2025 CBRE report.
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