April 11, 2008

CenterPoint CEO Bullish on Region’s Growth Potential

Michael Mullen, CEO of CenterPoint Properties Trust, delivered the keynote presentation at KABA’s 2008 Annual Meeting.
CenterPoint is the largest owner, manager and developer of industrial real estate in metropolitan Chicago with 24 branded business parks, 44 million square feet of development, and an additional 8,100 acres of land for future development. The firm
specializes in intermodal and transportation related development.

Mr. Mullen’s keynote address focused on “intermodalism.” A phrase he used to describe the intersection of multiple modes of transportation as it relates to the movement of containerized goods. The fundamental point was that the flow of goods into and out of the United States continues to expand exponentially. However, the nation’s highway infrastructure has not kept pace. As a result, rail transportation has, and continues to, become increasingly important to the U.S.’ economy. Mullen noted that the Chicago region is extremely well-positioned to benefit from this trend. Already one of the World’s largest industrial markets, the Chicago region has key linkages to all six major rail systems that serve North America. This bodes well for the area and its future development.

To more clearly drive this point home, Mullen provided specific examples of projects CenterPoint has developed in Elwood, IL where costs savings from transportation (using rail, as opposed to trucks, to move goods from ports to the Midwest) more than paid for the occupancy costs of these companies’ Midwest distribution facilities.

Through its joint-venture agreement with Wispark, CenterPoint has become a major player in Kenosha County’s economic development. CenterPoint is currently working on a number of Kenosha County projects including the development of Uline’s corporate headquarters in Pleasant Prairie. They also recently completed a 500,000 SF Distribution Center that was leased to Coleman Cable.

See photos from the 2008 KABA Annual Meeting at KABA's Event Photo Gallery.

Read the Kenosha News article about the 2008 KABA Annual Meeting.