Jackson Township Trustee Norm Fanning, left, cranes to look as Joe Franek, NorthPoint Development’s Development Manager, shows the map of the company’s updated plans for an intermodal business park to Jackson Township trustees and residents at a July 8 board meeting.

By Nick Reiher

Representatives of the City of Joliet, CenterPoint Properties and NorthPoint Development celebrated a reworked agreement a year ago that alleviated the need for continued litigation, while taking residents of the city off the hook for millions in maintenance costs over two decades.

Residents in Jackson Township, Manhattan Township and Elwood proper were not celebrating. They thought Joliet officials had once again sold them out by not continuing to fight NorthPoint’s nearly decade-old plan for a business park with a 37 million-square-foot footprint just east of Elwood and touching the western portion of Manhattan.

Recently, they heard NorthPoint officials asked the Jackson Township Board to support its plan to seek sales tax relief through inclusion in the Joliet Arsenal Enterprise Zone. Township Supervisor Matt Robbins invited them to the July 8 township board meeting to present their new plans and explain the Enterprise Zone benefits to the company.

Brent Miles, NorthPoint’s Chief Marketing Officer, told Farmers Weekly Review before the meeting he was looking forward to it. And yes, he knew what he was getting into. That’s why he was going.

A founding member of NorthPoint Development, Miles told Farmers Weekly Review the meeting was the first of many planned in affected communities to show the company not only had changed its plans in response to their concerns, but that it had changed the structure of the leadership team.

“I was involved with all other NorthPoint projects throughout the country, but not this one,” he said. “Patrick Robinson handled this one. He is no longer with the company. That’s all I can say.

“I know we’ve created a lot of enemies and caused a lot of friction. That didn’t sit well with me.”

Since the new agreement was approved last year, Miles said he has used the time to meet with various groups about their concerns.

That, he said, has led to NorthPoint adding approximately 250 acres of conservation easements near residences and nearby Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, as well as lighting and truck idling controls, and designing its buildings with LEED-certified sustainability standards.

The most significant change, Miles said, was moving much of the project footprint, including the bridge over Illinois 53 for the closed-loop route, north, away from Elwood and west away from Manhattan, while also reducing the footprint by 12 million square feet.

The audience that filled the compact Jackson Township meeting room on July 8 was not receptive, remembering how previous NorthPoint leadership openly and sometimes mockingly disregarded residents’ concerns.

Neither was Township Trustee Coley O’Connell, who several times called “Bullsh..,” including as he walked out of the meeting during the presentation, emotionally stating he was concerned for the safety of the children and the students who had to travel back and forth to Joliet Central High School amid traffic on Illinois 53 and, illegally, on local roads.

Miles and NorthPoint Development Manager Joe Franek told the audience “robust” barriers would be placed on local roads off Illinois 53 to make sure only passenger vehicles could pass.

They also told the group the first of regular traffic studies would be released July 16, which would give more indication of where other traffic controls are needed.

Miles Acknowledged previous NorthPoint leadership did not listen. But when a Manhattan resident said one of the new buildings in the updated, reduced plan was right on top of her property, he responded quickly.

“That sounds like a building that needs to be eliminated,” he said, asking for her address and phone number to follow through on the issue.

“This is not THE plan,” Miles told the group. “It is not final.” The plan will come more into focus when Joliet and Manhattan work on a new boundary agreement after the current one expires in November, he added, as well as after hearing more concerns from residents in other areas.

He added that adjustments suggested by Jackson Township residents or anyone else are not contingent on support for their Enterprise Zone request to the county.

Although the township board didn’t vote on the request for support, Robbins said he does not favor any incentive that would bring more warehouses. Several residents said a company with NorthPoint’s finances does not need Enterprise Zone relief.

Miles said inclusion in the Joliet Arsenal Enterprise Zone would allow NorthPoint to defray sales tax revenue for construction materials for the project, amounting to about $9 million initially.

Although townships do not collect sales taxes, Miles said he is looking for support, knowing the Will County Board – as well as Joliet and the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity — would have the final say, and board members would want to know how their constituents felt about it.

He added that the Enterprise Zone sales tax relief would help offset the downsizing of its plans. Taxing bodies affected by the plan still would get their full revenue, he added.

As the project moves forward, Miles said there will be more similar meetings in other affected communities. If there are more concerns they can alleviate, he’s open to it.

“If I hear they don’t want any type of project, that’s not realistic for us right now,” Miles said. “We know we’re not going to have everyone singing “Kumbaya,” with 100 percent support.

“But like with school, I’ll be happy with 80 percent.”

Told by more than one audience member previous NorthPoint leadership ignored residents’ concerns, even when promised, Miles later responded:

“I always follow through.”

Nick Reiher is editor of Farmers Weekly Review.

 

 

Brent Miles, NorthPoint Development’s Chief Marketing Officer, outlines the company’s reduced plans for its business park for Jackson Township residents and trustees.

A map provided by NorthPoint Development shows where the company eliminated its plans for buildings south of Brown Road and moved plans to the northwest quadrant west of Illinois 53.