The Alter Group is developing a $100 million, 200-acre master-planned business park for state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution centers in Rochelle, IL, roughly 80 miles west of Chicago.

The site, which can accommodate up to 3 million sq. ft. of modern distribution space, is zoned for industrial use. It also is centrally located near the new $181 million Union Pacific Intermodal Facility.

"The ability to receive containers from the new intermodal facility quickly is essential to distribution operations," says Michael Alter, president of the Chicago-based Alter Group.

Interstate Transportation Center sites, which are divisible to as little as 10 acres, can be developed with direct rail access.

Rochelle and the Interstate Transportation Center are served by two of the nation’s most heavily trafficked freight rail lines — the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Also, two interstate highways — I-88 and I-39 — assures one-day truck delivery access to over half of the United States population. The Interstate Transportation Center is 90 minutes west of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, and 25 miles south of the Greater Rockford Airport, which serves as a major hub for United Parcel Service.

The site is immediately north of the 1,200-acre Union Pacific Global 3 Intermodal Terminal & Reload Center. This facility incorporates the latest technology and computer systems, which will provide the ability to transfer more than 700,000 cargo containers a year between trains and trucks quickly and cost effectively.

"Global trade — especially with Asia — e-commerce and e-fulfillment’s explosive growth has spectacularly intensified demand for mega-sized high-throughput distribution centers that ship goods to customers quickly and at the lowest possible cost," Alter said.

Companies already operating facilities in Rochelle include such well-known national corporations as Kraft Foods, Del Monte, LaGrou Distribution Systems Inc. and Boise Cascade.