In July 2008, the Joliet City Council approved the CenterPoint Intermodal North project. The project, which will culminate in a 3,600-acre intermodal facility, represents a $2 billion investment by CenterPoint Properties. This facility will handle domestic and international cargo containers and will make Will County, Illinois one of the largest inland ports in the Western Hemisphere.
The intermodal facility is expected to deliver a range of benefits:
• $290 million to $344 million in new wages annually
• $601 to $765 million in operations economic impact annually
• $1.1 billion in construction economic impact
• 6,900 to 7,400 operations jobs
• 5,900 construction jobs
• 20 years of taxes at the park could net $138 million in taxes for Joliet and local school districts alone.
A similar facility in nearby Elwood already has achieved a vital boost for that community, with village revenues going up nearly 10-fold and annual wages in the village increased more than 50 percent.
In recent years, Illinois has moved to second in the nation in grain export volume, due in large part to the Elwood integrated logistics center. Considering more than 44 percent of Illinois grain is sold for export, access to transportation is essential for the region’s farmers to get their products to market.
Joliet has always drawn its vitality from being a crossroads that serves as a vital transportation hub for the region, the nation and now the world, said John Greuling, president and CEO of the Will County Center of Economic Development. Long-haul trucking is being phased out nationally and replaced by containers moved by trains through modern, clean integrated industrial facilities.
“Will County is at the crossroads of trade,” Mike Mullen, CEO of CenterPoint Properties said. “The global demand for freight container transport and logistics will double in the next decade. Will County will be poised to meet that demand.”