Saddle Creek breaks ground on expanded Chicago facility

Third-party logistics provider Saddle Creek Logistics Services said it has broken ground on an expanded distribution center in Chicago. The 1.1-million-square-foot facility, scheduled to open early next year, will nearly double the size of Saddle Creek's current 590,000-square-foot facility in Chicago.

The new DC will be located at the Joliet, Ill.-based CenterPoint Intermodal Center, one of the nation's largest inland ports and a designated Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ). The facility will have 132 dock doors and a secured yard, Lakeland, Fla.-based Saddle Creek said in a statement. Adjacent to the Union Pacific Corp. and BNSF Railway Co. yards and near Interstates 55 and 80, the facility can support two-day deliveries to many major markets, Saddle Creek said.

The larger DC will replace Saddle Creek's existing 590,000-square-foot center in the Chicago area. It is one of 37 facilities in the company's nationwide network. Each facility offers warehousing, transportation, packaging, and fulfillment services.

The facility will be located at 2550 Logistics Drive in Joliet.