May 21 2008
ProLogis, the world's largest owner, manager and developer of distribution facilities, and Kraft Foods, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, announced today that an 800,000-square-foot building near Chicago developed by ProLogis has been recognized for advanced environmental design by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a building industry nonprofit group that promotes sustainable development.
The distribution center, located in Morris, Ill., was completed in the first half of 2007 and is currently leased to Kraft. Together, the companies recently completed building improvements under the USGBC's "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" (LEED) for Commercial Interiors (CI) certification program. The building is now LEED-CI Gold certified and is the largest facility of its kind in the world to achieve this certification.
Kraft currently leases approximately 3.2 million square feet from ProLogis at locations throughout North America. This building is the company's first distribution center to receive LEED certification.
"We are thrilled to announce our first LEED-certified distribution facility," said David Klavsons, vice president, logistics for Kraft. "This is a great accomplishment for our company and provides tremendous momentum for our future sustainability initiatives. We have a longstanding relationship with ProLogis and, by leveraging their expertise in green construction practices, the company has added an even higher value to our partnership."
"The improvements made to the building in collaboration with Kraft helped it become our third distribution facility in the U.S. to receive LEED certification, and we are excited about the incitement it gives our green building efforts," said Jack Rizzo, managing director of global construction at ProLogis. "With nine additional warehouses currently submitted for certification review and 8.3 million square feet in the U.S. under design or construction to meet LEED standards, ProLogis continues to demonstrate its commitment to becoming the global leader in sustainable warehouse construction."
The Kraft facility is located at ProLogis Park 80, a 168-acre distribution park one mile north of the I-80 interchange, a major east/west highway corridor. This is the first building in the park, which has additional land available to support up to 2.1 million square feet of additional development. Specific elements of environmental design employed in the Kraft building include:
- Energy-efficient fluorescent lighting with multi-level lighting controls, resulting in a 60 percent reduction in lighting energy usage;
- HVAC ventilation system that improves air quality and reduces power consumption by 40 percent;
- Extensive use of recycled and locally sourced materials during construction, with nearly 100 percent of construction debris diverted to recycling centers rather than landfills;
- Use of wood-based construction materials harvested from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forests totaling nearly 80 percent; and,
- Interior paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants with low volatile organic compounds (VOC) emission levels.
Total Logistics Control, a third party distribution services provider, operates the facility for Kraft, handling day-to-day inbound and outbound logistics for numerous well-known Kraft products.
"We value our longstanding relationship with Kraft and are happy to meet their distribution needs in the I-80 submarket of Chicago," said Doug Kiersey, ProLogis senior vice president and Midwest regional director. "This area is quickly becoming defined as a top location for regional and national bulk distribution."
ProLogis is one of the largest providers of industrial space in the Chicago metro area, with a platform of more than 112 facilities and 26 million square feet owned, managed or under development. ProLogis customers in this market include APL Logistics, Anixter, Clorox, Kuehne + Nagel and UPS Supply Chain Services.