Contegra Construction Co. is advancing on one of the area’s largest distribution facilities for global real estate solutions provider and developer, EQT Exeter, aiming for a completion date of Q4 2022.

Emerging at Gateway Commerce Center in Edwardsville, Ill., the 800,000-SF speculative distribution warehouse, Exeter Inner Park - Building B, is being constructed of tilt-up concrete panels and will feature 146 dock doors and four drive-thru doors. Parking is available for 206 trucks and 538 cars.

The facility, the second of two planned buildings in the Exeter Inner Park development, is illuminated by LED high bay fixtures and includes 3,300-SF of office space. The first building, Exeter Inner Park - Building A, is a 674,752 SF building that was completed in early 2020 and is fully leased to Royal Canin.

The project team is targeting a full building tenant with the option of dividing the space to accommodate multiple tenants.

“The building under construction will be 800K SF but can be expanded to over 1 million SF. If the building is not expanded, an additional 250 trailer parking spaces, or 850 car parking spaces, or some combination of both, could be added in addition to the 206 trailer parking spaces and 538 car parking spaces,” said Ben Haas, regional investment officer with EQT Exeter.

The property is located in an Illinois Enterprise Zone, which includes multiple incentives that a tenant can utilize, most notably the market-leading 10-year property tax abatement.

EQT Exeter is the largest industrial landlord in St. Louis, with a portfolio size of 13 million SF, including the 2021 acquisition of Duke Realty's entire 4.3 million SF portfolio. Within the Gateway Commerce Center park/submarket, EQT Exeter owns six fully-leased buildings, totaling +/- 3.25 million SF, in addition to the 800K SF building under construction.

For more information on EQT Exeter, in St. Louis and Kansas City, contact Ben Haas at ben.haas@eqtexeter.com.

Aerial image courtesy of Contegra Construction Co.