New Industrial Park Plans in Vernon Hills Given Green Light

Redevelopment of an ex-American Hotel Register property northwest of Chicago was approved, greenlighting an additional 1 million-square-foot industrial park in the region.

The Vernon Hills site spans 70 acres and is set for 1.2 million square feet spread across three speculative buildings, one existing warehouse and a site for hand2mind, a classroom supplies and teacher curriculum company. An entity listed as JCA Hayes LLC has been trying to get this project in motion since late 2024, according to the Chicago Daily Herald. The planned site sits at 100-230 South Milwaukee Avenue.

At one point, it appeared that the land was being eyed by Amazon for potential redevelopment. Four years ago, a proposal nicknamed Project Zeus was pitched to the Chicago suburb on behalf of an anonymous Fortune 500 company. The proposal called for nearly 3 million square feet contained within a five-story combination of offices and warehouse. Locals assumed that due to the size and type of building that Amazon was behind the proposal. Ultimately, the proposal was withdrawn.

Since then, JCA Hayes’ initial 2024 proposal has been revised due to local concerns about traffic and noise. The project was approved conditionally, one of the conditions being that a sound wall will be extended to block out most of the overbearing noise. The development portion of the proposal contained an amendment to add hand2mind site changes. Four hand2mind facilities in Vernon Hills’ Continental Executive Park at 75 North Fairway Drive are set to be combined in the development, according to the outlet.

Other recent movement in the Vernon Hills real estate market includes Cedarhurst moving forward with a $38 million assisted living facility. The new facility is expected to open in 2028, and will feature around 50 permanent jobs created in the community, along with an 89-unit, 77,000 square-foot facility. Cedarhurst is utilizing three parcels containing a total of 6.5 acres from the former American Hotel Register site, essentially caddycorner to the planned Industrial Park.

— Hunter Cooke