from: http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?article_id=27126&bt=morris&arc=n&searchType=all
Development vs. demand
Tiny Morris' growth lags exurban neighborsDevelopers of all stripes —” industrial, retail and residential —” are circling Morris, a small town on the far southwestern fringe of metropolitan Chicago. But some observers are worrying that new development is outpacing demand.
Situated at state Route 47 and Interstate 80, Morris has a population of around 13,000 and is due west of such fast-growing towns as Joliet and Minooka.
ProLogis Trust of Denver a year ago finished work on an 806,000-square-foot speculative warehouse, but no tenants have materialized. Ten miles away, in Minooka, ProLogis' Internationale Centre South park has attracted Clorox Co. and Kellogg Co.
"We know we have to be a little patient with a building this size," says Douglas Kiersey, a ProLogis senior vice-president, in discussing the marketing efforts in Morris.
On the residential front, Lincolnway Partners Inc. of New Lenox got approval several years ago for a 1,250-home subdivision called Grand Oaks on 541 acres. But ground hasn't been broken yet. Lincolnway owner William Bolker was unavailable for comment.
Retailers, meanwhile, are jumping in. A new Menards opened on Route 47 in November, and its rival, Lowe's, has gotten approval for a store nearby in a shopping center owned by Oak Brook's Edgemark Commercial Real Estate Services LLC. Target Corp. is involved in negotiations to take a site next to Lowe's, real estate sources say. Target and Edgemark did not return calls.
The Target deal is not finalized and a plan by Caton Commercial Real Estate Group Inc. of Plainfield for a shopping center across the street recently fell apart, leading some observers to suggest that Route 47 is not yet ready to become a major retail corridor. "The housing growth in Morris has lagged the growth in other towns in the area," says Michael Bell, president of retail brokerage Pentad Realty Inc. in Chicago. "As a result, the demand for retail isn't as strong as the people in Morris think it is."
That may be just fine with Mayor Richard Kopczick. "We don't want to explode with the sort of growth that has overrun other communities," he says. "We're not interested in doubling our population in the next five years just to bring more retailers to town."
Still, the city has spent $15 million on sewer plant additions to accommodate future growth. A north-south highway called the Prairie Parkway is still in the planning stage, but if it gets the green light from state and federal officials, it's likely to run along the western edge of Morris.
"If the parkway gets built, then we'll see more opportunities for all kinds of development," says Nancy Ammer, CEO of the Grundy Economic Development Council.
©2007 by Crain Communications Inc.