Massive Development Set for 50-acre River Ridge Site
Reprinted with permission from the Louisville Business First:
A national developer is bringing another huge project to Southern Indiana.
The River Ridge Development Authority said Monday that Kansas City-based VanTrust Real Estate LLC has broken ground on Gateway 700, a 702,800-square-foot speculative industrial building, that should be ready for tenants by year’s end. The massive complex is being developed on a 50-acre site it owns at the intersection of International Drive and River Ridge Parkway at the 6,000-acre River Ridge Commerce Center.
The speculative building will include 72 dock-high doors, two drive-in doors and a minimum clear height of 40 feet throughout the complex. Construction costs were not disclosed.
This is the second building VanTrust has constructed inside River Ridge. The first, a 592,800-square-foot distribution facility, opened in 2018 and is leased by Ingram Micro. The new building is being constructed on land the company purchased last year.
VanTrust is a real estate development company that acquires and develops real estate assets for the Van Tuyl family portfolio. Its product types include office, industrial, multifamily, retail, institutional, governmental, hospitality, and recreational.
“Building on the success of our first venture at River Ridge, we are thrilled to be expanding our footprint with a second industrial warehouse,” Tyler Ford, manager of development at VanTrust’s Columbus office, said in a news release. “As a rapidly growing area, the Louisville market is an ideal location for a modern and sophisticated building that will attract new business to the region and contribute to its further economic growth.”
RED Architecture is in charge of the building design while Pepper Construction is the general contractor. Kevin Grove, a senior vice president with CBRE Group Inc. of Louisville, is the listing agent.
This is the latest win for River Ridge when it comes to large-scale industrial development. The business park is home to more than 60 businesses employing more than 10,000 workers. It has about 4,000 acres still available for interested companies.
Only about 30% of the center has been developed.
“We are extremely excited that VanTrust is developing a second facility at River Ridge,” Jerry Acy, executive director of the River Ridge Development Authority, said in the release. “VanTrust’s decision to expand its footprint here reinforces the regional and national reputation River Ridge has developed as a preferred site for manufacturing and logistics operations. Pairing VanTrust’s exceptional experience and quality products with River Ridge’s superb location and advantages will make this one of the most sought-after industrial spaces in the nation.”
This comes after we reported earlier this year that America Place, a major landowner and developer at River Ridge, is establishing an early education center and a technology center for adults on up to 53 acres in River Ridge. The company envisions the large campus could eventually educate and train hundreds of people at a given time. If everything goes as planned, it will launch later this year in a modular 6,720-square-foot facility provided by Vanguard Modular Building Systems.
The River Ridge Development Authority board of directors, which oversees finances and business operations for the business park, approved the sale of 52 acres inside the park that will be used to construct a large new development.
Acy was given the power to negotiate the sale with a confidential buyer who intends to use the site for commercial purposes. River Ridge often keeps buyers confidential until the deal closes, and no details on the type of development planned for the property were disclosed. The sale is slated to generate about $4 million for use by River Ridge officials for future operations.