Mayor Todd Matichak

July 13, 2017

Mayor Todd Matichak Trustee Doug Jenco Trustee Darryl P. Lab Trustee Don LaPaglia Trustee Dean Lowrance Trustee Mary Matichak Trustee Jasen Melahn Elwood Village Hall 401 E. Mississippi Avenue Elwood, IL 60421

Re: Support for Compass Business Park – Elwood

Dear Mayor and Village Trustees,

Our Company strongly supports NorthPoint Development’s effort to build Compass Business Park – a state-of-the-art warehouse, distribution and light manufacturing facility in Elwood, just east of Route 53.

Given the area’s economy and need for skilled union labor, we must take advantage of any opportunity that will put residents of Elwood and Will County back to work and spur economic development in our communities.

 NorthPoint’s proposal for a $1.2 billion facility is precisely the kind of economic boost that Elwood and the County needs. Up to 1,600 annual construction-related jobs are needed to complete the facility over a 10-year period.

In response to the concerns of the community, the proposal contains truck traffic within a dedicated closed loop to keep trucks off local roads.

This represents one of the only thoughtful development proposals to reduce the adverse impact of truck traffic.  During the last 10 years, Will County has experienced a 138 percent growth in freight. Recent expansion efforts at the BNSF Logistics Park in Elwood added five strip tracks and state-of-the-art equipment to improve efficiency and capacity. BNSF recently expanded, increasing the number of lifts by 50 percent to 1.5 million lifts annually from 1 million shipping containers passing through the area. Union Pacific has quadrupled in lift counts over the past seven years. Additional freight and truck traffic is coming.

 More local distribution center space is needed. The State of Illinois and Will County need to capture the jobs and economic benefits from local infrastructure and construction projects. Compass Business Park will give local families the opportunity to thrive in the immediate future, and it would lay the foundation for future generations of laborers to flourish.

In addition, we can address the regional transportation needs to improve the flow of freight in the area while still moving forward with a critical project like Compass Business Park, built out over a 10-year-period, which is vital to providing a boost to our regional economy.

Compass Business Park would be modern, safe and state of the art. In order to earn that distinction, it will require the kind of skilled workers and technical know-how that we stand ready to provide. If we expect to stay competitive in this increasingly global market, we have to put our men and women to work on innovative projects like this one.

This investment represents an immediate boost for our working men and women in Will County and is precisely what the community needs. We must ensure it becomes a reality.

Sincerely,

Name Company Title