John Deere closes on land for 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse in Indiana

The Moline, Illinois-based agricultural machinery manufacturer is expected to create thousands of jobs when it builds one of Lake County’s largest buildings.

John Deere closed on a 234-acre parcel at 2105 W. 181st Ave. in Lowell, near the Illinois/Indiana state line. Coldwell Banker Commercial Realty announced the $7 million sale of the undeveloped property just off I-65.

The company has also recently announced it is planning to lay off more than 600 employees across East Moline, Davenport and Dubuque. The company cited reduced demand for the products made at those plants. 

Nancy Frigo and Nicholas Smith represented the seller Hallmark Construction Company. Rosemont-based buyer Venture One will develop the site for John Deere, a multinational that makes tractors, harvesters, field sprayers, backhoes, excavators, loaders and other agricultural, construction and forestry equipment.

Venture One Principal Mark Goode said the new warehouse will be longer than Sears Tower lying down on its side. It’s estimated the project will take 1,200 union construction workers to build and employ another 400 to 500 workers in full-time jobs on a permanent basis.

“We at the Lowell Chamber of Commerce are very excited for this business to be coming to the town of Lowell, Indiana,” said Frigo, who leads the development team for Hallmark Construction and is the president of the Lowell Chamber of Commerce. “We look forward to having them here, as well as the positive economic impact for our community that will surely happen.”

The 234-acre site is at the southwest corner of Interstate 65 and Route 2. It has more than 2,595 feet of road frontage along I-65 and more than 3,397 feet of road front on Route 2. It’s close to Interstates 80, 90 and 94, as well as state highways and the Chicago Skyway.

“South Lake County is ripe and ready to grow with this type of development, and provides easy access to the crossroads of America,” Frigo said. 

Economic development officials estimate John Deere will invest more than $125 million in the facility, which would serve as its Midwestern distribution hub. Attorney Jim Wieser, who’s representing the developer, said the company was looking to expand by adding another 500,000 square feet to 700,000 square feet to the building in the future.

John Deere was founded 187 years ago and brought in $61.25 billion in revenue last year. It placed 64th this year on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest publicly traded corporations.

It’s looking to build one of several new warehouses that have sprung up along Interstate 65 in Hobart, Merrillville, Crown Point and Lowell in recent years, where a record amount of construction is underway.