May 17, 2024
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Joliet council OKs NorthPoint and CenterPoint warehouse projects

Opponents urged no vote on latest NorthPoint annexation

By Bob Okon
Mayor Terry D’Arcy addresses the public saying he did not approve, agree to or sign a grant agreement to help asylum seekers at the Joliet City Council Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 in Joliet.

Mayor Terry D’Arcy, seen at a City Council meeting in October, commented Tuesday that Joliet needs a long-term plan to control truck traffic but voted with council majorities to approve the latest plans from NorthPoint Development and CenterPoint Properties. (Gary Middendorf/Gary Middendorf)

Mayor Terry D’Arcy vowed Joliet would do something about its growing trucking issues, but that didn’t stop him and the City Council from approving new plans by the city’s two biggest warehouse developers on Tuesday.

NorthPoint Development got the 17-acre annexation and zoning it wanted to build a cold-storage warehouse near the intersection of Route 53 and Noel Road.

CenterPoint Properties got the zoning and plat approvals needed to move ahead with an intermodal terminal at 4001 Brandon Road.

The council in November tabled votes on both projects, as D’Arcy, who became mayor in May, said he wanted to get a better grasp of the long-term impact of ongoing warehouse development in the city.

An aerial view of a home next to one of NorthPoint distribution centers near the intersection of Noel Road and Illinois Route 53 in Elwood. NorthPoint is developing the Third Coast Intermodal Hub, a warehouse development of more than 2,000 acres stretching from Joliet to Elwood.

NorthPoint Development has started its industrial park in an area near a neighborhood along Noel Road. (Scott Anderson)

D’Arcy said Tuesday that he and other city officials have begun meeting with both NorthPoint and CenterPoint, other mayors and county officials, and state legislators.

“Our biggest concern is the truck traffic, and the truck traffic is a problem that needs to be solved,” the mayor said.

As to what can be done, D’Arcy promised city officials are working on it but did not offer specifics.

“What we’re trying to do is come up with a truck traffic plan that’s going to take us into the future,” he said.

NorthPoint, which has faced opposition from residents and neighboring municipal officials, continued to draw opponents before the council vote.

“Do not approve yet another industrial building to be built in this corridor,” pleaded Jackson Township Assessor Delilah LeGrett, one of eight people to speak against the NorthPoint annexation near the busy Route 53 trucking corridor.

NorthPoint is just getting started on an industrial park that could sprawl over 2,000 acres between Joliet and Elwood.

CenterPoint is the developer of the CenterPoint Intermodal Center, which put Union Pacific and BNSF Railway intermodal yards in Joliet and Elwood respectively and created what is known as the largest inland port in the country because of the millions of containers shipped in by rail.