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NorthPoint seeks Joliet approval for first 530 acres

Plan Commission to review proposal for ‘Third Coast Hub’

By Bob Okon
Tom George, Vice President of Acquisitions at NorthPoint, speaks at the Joliet Plan Commission meeting regarding NorthPoint's development of the Compass Business Park. Thursday, Nov.18, 2021 in Joliet.

Tom George, vice president of acquisitions for NorthPoint, speaks at a Joliet Plan Commission meeting in November when the developer was seeking approval of an annexation agreement. (Gary Middendorf)

NorthPoint Development has submitted its first detailed land development plan to the city of Joliet.

The Plan Commission on Thursday will review the plan for 532 acres, all west of Route 53.

The area south of Millsdale Road is part of NorthPoint’s 2,300-acre Compass Glogal Logistics Hub that was covered in an annexation agreement approved by Joliet in December.

NorthPoint is seeking plat approval for a development that would include warehouses ranging in size from 420,000 square feet to 1.7 million square feet, according to a city staff report to the Plan Commission.

Plat approval is needed before NorthPoint can begin construction.

NorthPoint spokesman Scott Burnham said in December after City Council approval of the annexation agreement that the developer hoped to begin construction in the spring.

Since then, Burnham has not responded to calls and emails seeking information about NorthPoint’s plans and when it might start construction. He did not respond to a phone call or email Friday.

NorthPoint still faces a challenge in court from Stop NorthPoint, a group of residents and property owners trying to stop the project.

Ron Adamski (left) and John Kieken of Stop NorthPoint watch the Joliet Zoning Board of Appeals hearing from a monitor on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, at Joliet City Hall in Joliet

John Kieken (right) and Ron Adamski with Stop NorthPoint seen at a 2020 Joliet Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on the project. (Geoff Stellfox)

StopNorthPoint co-founder John Kieken said Friday that the group will appeal if it is not successful in its lawsuit in Will County. The next hearing on the case in Will County Court is June 9.

Kieken said the proposal going to the Plan Commission “seems like the expected plan with a name change.”

The 532-acre development is named Third Coast Intermodal Hub. It’s not clear if the name applies only to that portion of the development or if NorthPoint has renamed the entire project. If so, it would be the third name for the project since it was first proposed.

Cover of the traffic impact study that John Kieken, a leader of Stop NorthPoint, said was provided to him on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, before a court hearing in his lawsuit case against the City of Joliet.

The NorthPoint project was originally called Compass Business Park. (Photo provided)

“I don’t know why they put the name change in there, but the plan is not a shock,” Kieken said.

The staff report makes no mention of bridge construction.

The annexation agreement requires NorthPoint to use bonds or some form of financial instrument for construction of a bridge over Route 53 before it gets building permits.

The Plan Commission also will consider a special use permit for development within the Cedar Creek Watershed Protection Area, which NorthPoint needs to build on.

The warehouse buildings would go on four of 13 lots in the development. Other lots would be used for stormwater detention, private streets and a road to be called Third Coast Parkway.