Cold Storage Warehouse for Sale - Chicago Metro

Last Updated Feb. 26, 2023

  • Honest and Direct

  • How Can We Help?

  • Article Overview

  • Other Metro Search and Info Pages

By the way, we hope you appreciate our direct and honest communication with you. We are NOT a listing site, and, unlike many other sites you will find, we do NOT pretend to be. We are here to provide you with the best information we can on Cold Storage Warehouse for sale, Chicago. We provide commercial real estate brokerage services - plainly and simply. We mention this because the purpose of all publicly available listing sites is to serve as click bait to lead you, as a potential client, to a Real Estate Broker. The property they are sharing with you may or may not be available. This is not the best way to find a broker who can meet your needs. That's where we come in. We serve as your broker and look out for your best interests - from start to finish.

If you are searching for Cold Storage Warehouse for sale, Chicago, you've come to the right place. In this article, we cover three key topics, including:

  • An overview of cold storage warehousing.
  • An offer of our professional services to help you identify and acquire your next warehouse of any type, including Cold Storage Warehouse for sale in Chicago, from the best listed and unlisted sources. It's what we do!
  • A few examples of properties - like the ones in this category - in the form of a survey. That level of information and more would be a part of the search we would conduct for your specific requirements. Skip directly to the search/survey section for this page.

Free Warehouse Search (or Other Assistance)

You'll find the best information about issues relevant to Cold Storage Warehouse for Sale in Chicago right here. If you are unalbe to find what you are looking for, please let us know what we're missing and we'll be sure to look at adding additional topics and information. If you want our help, please use one or more of the following methods:

Please let us know how we can help. Be sure to provide contact information so that we can reach out to you.

We've seen a significant amount of traffic on our site involving cold storage(cooler and/or freezer)-equipped warehouses for Sale. We've pursued enough of these opportunities that we feel we've established a bit of a specialty in the area. We update our survey of properties periodically. As with any set of properties, their status is very dynamic, so expect us to have to research for you anyway to make sure things are still available and are what they seem to be. Unfortunately, Cold Storage space is in high demand, so you should generally expect some twists and turns as we work to find you what you need - including possible retrofitting of an existing warehouse with the type of refrigeration that you require. We’ll identify the best listed and unlisted Cold Storage Warehouses for Sale in the Chicago Metro at no charge for you. Let us do the searching for you - it's what we do! If you need cold storage warehouse space in the Chicago Metro area, please contact us for more detailed assistance. In the mean time, read on for more information about Cold Storage warehouses.



Article Sections

Click to Expand a Section

Chicago is a hub of communications and is the preeminent city in the Midwest, a macro area of the United States of almost 2 million square kilometers and 70 million inhabitants. The "Chicagoland" alone is home to some 10 million people. For this reason, having cold storage warehouses in Chicago can be very profitable for any business that has to do with food. If you want to buy or rent any such warehouse, you will find the support you need at Warehouse Finder.

Cold Storage Warehouse Word Cloud Infographic | Warehouse Finder

There are a wide range of uses for refrigerated space in warehouses. This includes things like Food Preparation and Storage at various stages of the value chain, vaccines and other drugs, plants, and, interestingly, more obscure items like document and art. For completeness, this can also include display of articles at temperature, but this is more likely at the retail level.

Cold Storage Warehouse for Lease or Sale | Warehouse Finder

There are many complications with regard to Cold Storage. It tends to be expensive in terms of building, operating and maintaining. Your Cold Storage space is often built of necessity much like a building within a building because of the rigorous requirements. It must be sealed and extensively insulated. You must have ingress and egress - probably for humans and product from inside the building, and then if you are a volume operation you will likely need access through a dock directly connecting your cold storage space in warehouse with your cold storage transportation. All of these doors must be insulated and sealed as well. The space must be refrigerated throughout with temperatures carefully regulated. IF you need to store foods that require different temperatures, then you must create separators and regulate temperature differently for each area. If you are concerned about cross contamination between food types - like, say, you are doing some food processing in your cold space or for some other reason - then you must be able to certify what has and is being done in the area you are using and how it has been cared for. You'll probably need to be able to provide proof that what you've stored has been maintained at specified temperatures. These are some of the many complications...

Cold Storage Warehouse for Lease or Sale | Warehouse Finder

First principles - building out and maintaining Cold Storage capability can be an expensive proposition. For this reason at a minimum, unused Cold Storage space tends to be scarce.

  • Sometimes you will find facilities - often large - that have been vacated and are available to buy or lease. Figuring out if this type of facility is usable can be an undertaking. You will need to assess a wide range of issues - refrigeration methods, insulation quality and status, temperature ranges and divisibility, etc., etc.. You likely won't know exactly why the prior occupant decided to move out, so, of course, take care.
  • If you have the scale, you will probably want to at least consider acquiring land and building. Of course, this requires more capital investment, so it needs to fit within the financial strategy of your company. This method should be expected to be better for your company from a COGS perspective, but it's possible you'll pay a price in flexibility over the long term. Build your own is not a decision to be taken lightly.
  • Another is to find someone who's built it for themselve and determine whether or not they have space they aren't using and lease some space from them.
  • Another is to find Cold Storage equipped space already built that is for sale or lease and have your Broker help you lease or buy the space.
  • In the area of lease, there are people who build buildings to sub-divide the space and lease portions of the space to tenants. If this includes cold storage space, this could be your answer.
  • There are also 3rd Party Logistics providers that provide and/or specialize in cold storage and will sell you cold storage as a part of a logistics package.

There are likely other options, and any of these may be an option for you.

If you expect to lease cold storage space, divisibility of that space can be quite challenging depending upon your requirements. Simply equipping a stand-alone facility for a single occupant with a range of refrigeration requirements isn't a picnic either. Available cold storage space must be divided up to provide potential tenants with what they need in terms of space and temperature. If the Tenant's requirements are complicated, this can raise the expense levels significantly. Chances are good that the landlord will be asking you to commit to a longer-term lease or pony up some of the capital expense up front to accommodate your needs - or both.

It can be possible to retrofit cold storage into an existing facility - although it might not be "pretty."

If you simply require non-freezing refrigerated space, then you can often just build an enclosure within the subject building and equip that enclosure properly. You need to determine whether or not you need the refrigeration to include some or all of your dock area.

Freezing space is a different matter altogether. Retrofitting a large freezer space within an existing building will likely require demo-ing that portion of your foundation and re-installing foundation to a new specification. At that point, you would then build a chamber similar to the more simple refrigerated space above - except with more stringent requirements. In this case, frost is not your friend.

You and/or your potential landlord will need to hire a refrigeration specialist to help everyone get what they need.

If you are new to cold storage, likely no one would hold it against you if you decided that maybe you should have someone else do the cold storage for you. There are 3PL (3rd Party Logistics) providers in the industry who do this for many reasons including those outlined above. This can be a good way to start out if you still learning or even expanding into a new area. As you grow, you will learn more about what you need, and trade-offs you encounter with 3PL vs. those that you expect with having your own space will begin to favor a roll-your-own approach - at which point you should likely begin to look at it more seriously again.

When a client asks us to help them search for a property to meet their needs for a Cold Storage Warehouse for Sale in Chicago, we go to the best listing services and to our fellow Commercial Real Estate brokers to pull together all the information available for properties meeting the stated client requirements. We validate the information to be provided - likely by talking directly with the selling or leasing brokers - and then help our clients go through this information to help them select the best fit properties, from which the client would select properties they wish to tour. We are posting an abbreviated version of a search we've either performed for another client, or one we've performed particularly for this article. We call the information provided in this article a "Survey," and we'd love to turn this survey into a full set of search results based upon your requirements! If you don't see a survey in the next section, it just means we haven't gotten around to it yet. If you need this type of property, please do let us know and we'll contact you to get started. The search we perform for you will include most or all categories you see here, plus information about pricing, other expenses, availability, and anything we can find regarding other requirements you provide for your use case. We would provide all of this, along with any available flyers, photos, and detailed information regarding each property.

This standard brokerage service is provided at no cost to you as it is ordinarily included in the transaction and paid for by the seller or landlord.

Survey Item 1 of 3 Help Me Find Properties Like This
Property Type Industrial & Flex
Transaction Type Purchase
Location Keywords
Keyword Selection
Oak Forest Station Commuter Rail
Keyword Selection
IL-50
Keyword Selection
Lincoln Hwy
Keyword Selection
I-57
Property Descriptions
Clear Height (ft)
Minimum: 16
Maximum: 24
Total Square Feet
Actual: 123600
Property Feature Keywords
Keyword Selection
Sprinklered
Keyword Selection
Heavy Power
Keyword Selection
Grade Level Access
Keyword Selection
Freezer/Cooler
Keyword Selection
Dock Loading
Keyword Selection
A/C Warehouse
Further Description * 123,600 SF Building Area
* 7.50 AC Lot Size
* 2 Stories
* Built 1960
* Renovated 2001
* Sale - Owner User
* Building Class C
* 3 No. Drive-In / Grade-Level Doors
* 7 No. Dock-High Doors/Loading
* 16' - 24' Clear Height
* 2.69/1,000 SF Parking Ratio
* Cooler
* Fenced Lot
* Floor Drains
* Freezer
* Signage
* Air Conditioning
* Lighting
* Natural Gas
* City Water & Sewer
* Gas Heating

This warehouse consists of 24,000 SF of two-story office with elevators, and 80,116 SF of cold storage with a 16’ to 24’ clear height, a new fire sprinkler system, heavy power transformer, floor drain, three drive-in doors, two exterior dock doors, five interior dock doors and basement with drive through door.

Survey Item 2 of 3 Help Me Find Properties Like This
Property Type Industrial & Flex
Transaction Type Purchase
Location Keywords
Keyword Selection
I-55
Keyword Selection
I-294
Keyword Selection
Summit Station Commuter Rail
Keyword Selection
Willow Springs Station Commuter Rail
Keyword Selection
Chicago Midway International Airport
Property Descriptions
Clear Height (ft)
Actual: 23
Office Square Feet
Actual: 3250
Total Square Feet
Actual: 43695
Price in $
Actual: 8200000
Property Feature Keywords
Keyword Selection
Grade Level Access
Keyword Selection
Freezer/Cooler
Keyword Selection
Dock Loading
Keyword Selection
Single Tenant
Further Description * $8,200,000
* $188 Price Per SF
* 43,695 SF Building Area
* 28,000 SF Cold Storage
* 9,000 SF Processing
* 9,500 SF Cooler
* 9,500 SF Freezer
* 3,250 SF 1st Floor Building
* 2,445 SF 2nd Floor Building
* 3.99 AC Lot Size
* 1 Storey
* Built 2004
* Sale - Owner User
* Single Tenancy
* Building Class C
* 2 Drive-In / Grade-Level Doors
* 10 Dock-High Doors/Loading
* 0.73/1,000 SF Parking Ratio
* 3200 amps, 480V 3-phase Power Supply
* Cooler
* Floor Drains
* Signage

An expandable warehouse comprised of 28,000 SF cold storage which of 9,000 SF processing, a 9,500 SF cooler, and a 9,500 SF freezer; a 3,250 SF office on the first floor and a 2,445 SF office on the second floor. The building has a 23’4” clear height, floor drains throughout, ten dock doors, one drive-in door, powered by 3200 amps, 480V 3-phase, and is formerly FDA/USDA approved.

Survey Item 3 of 3 Help Me Find Properties Like This
Property Type Industrial & Flex
Transaction Type Purchase
Location Keywords
Keyword Selection
McHenry Station Commuter Rail
Keyword Selection
Fox Lake Station Commuter Rail
Keyword Selection
Route 12
Property Descriptions
Clear Height (ft)
Actual: 16
Total Square Feet
Actual: 3680
Price in $
Actual: 389000
Property Feature Keywords
Keyword Selection
Freezer/Cooler
Keyword Selection
Yard
Keyword Selection
Dock Loading
Keyword Selection
A/C Warehouse
Keyword Selection
Single Tenant
Further Description * $389,000
* $106 Price Per SF
* 3,680 SF Building Area
* 1.36 AC Lot Size
* 1 Storey
* Built 1987 / Renovated 2020
* Sale - Owner User
* Single Tenancy
* Class B Building
* 1 Dock-High Door/Loading
* 16' Clear Height
* 3.26/1,000 SF Parking Ratio
* 2,400 SF Coolers/Freezers
* Signage
* Reception
* Air Conditioning
* Yard
* Storage Space

This 3,680 square feet industrial building on a 1.36-acre lot was built in 1987 and renovated in 2020 with 16 ft clear height and a spacious garage with 16 ft wide x 10 ft tall doors. This cold facility consists of 2,400 square feet of coolers/freezers, a full commercial kitchen, a prep room, a dishwashing/ utility room, a sitting room, an office and laundry + storage.

The market for Commercial Real Estate is very dynamic, and information regarding an available property can change from day-to-day, hour-to-hour, and even minute-to-minute. When you provide us with your requirements for a given property type, we perform a new search, validate all of the information, and provide you with the most reliable information we are able. The information we obtain for you is obtained from what we believe to be reliable sources. The statements and representations made are from these sources and not the statements and representations of the broker putting together your requested search.

We are working to put in place a Broker Affiliate for the Chicago Metro area. To make contact with us, please use our chat widget to the bottom right of your screen, call the number at the top right of your screen, or go to our form page to send us your contact information and a summary of your requirement. For more information about our Chicago Area Affiliate, and more about what we do for you, please visit our Chicago Metro Area.

If you like what you see here and you have a Cold Storage Warehouse for Sale in Chicago, or any other property or space you want to put on the market, please contact us and we'll provide you with a no-obligation listing consultation. To make contact with us, please use our chat widget to the bottom right of your screen, call the number at the top right of your screen, or use our listing information form to send us your contact information and a summary of your property.

What we do here at Warehouse Finder is identify and manage Broker/Affiliates in Metro areas as they work to help valued clients get the property or space that they need. We aim to be the best at what we do. If you have a requirement you can't service - most likely for a Metro area you don't serve - please contact us using our chat widget at the bottom right of your screen, call the number at the top right of your screen, or use our Broker Requirement form to send us your contact information and a summary of the requirement you would like us to address for your valued client. We will reach out to you as soon as practical to discuss the requirement and terms for proceeding.

Need More Details?

Want more information about something on this page? Need industrial, office or warehouse space? Fill out our form here to let our Broker Affiliate Network know about your needs including help assessing an existing lease. You may also call us at (800) 814 - 4214 to begin the discussion.

Please contact us at our Info Email address or use our Contact Us form if you have questions or concerns.

As Seen On CBS NBC Fox News

Need more details?

We are here to assist. Contact us by phone, email or via our social media channels.

Large Warehouse with Dock High Docks, Links to Site Help