Cold storage company investing $124M in Hebron facility
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Camden, New Jersey-based United States Cold Storage will soon set up operations in northwest Indiana, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. announced Wednesday.
The public refrigerated warehousing and logistics services provider plans to invest $124 million to construct a new facility at a 110-acre site in Hebron and create up to 60 jobs by the end of 2028.
The site is located at State Road 2 and Colorado Street, just off Interstate 65. The IEDC said USCS will utilize 70 acres for building a public refrigerated warehouse with associated trailer drop areas and other needs.
When complete, the warehouse will have more than 43,400 pallet positions, about 35,000 of which will be served by an automated storage and retrieval system
The remaining 40 acres will be reserved for a potential customer to build a production facility in the coming years, the state said.
USCS is also planning to build a solar array at the site that it says will provide 100% renewable energy to the warehouse.
“This northwest Indiana location is strategically located in a key market for USCS and will offer additional capacity in the Chicagoland area providing the necessary space for the growth of our current customers as well as Best-In-Cold service to new customers,” USCS General Manager Adam Ashley said in a news release.
USCS also has a location in Lebanon. Ashley said between the two locations, the company will have the capacity to help customers reach every state in the continental U.S.
The Hebron facility is expected to be complete by May 2025. The company has begin hiring for some of the new jobs.
The IEDC said the region, through the Northwest Indiana Forum Foundation, is investing over $125 million to make road infrastructure improvements along Colorado Street to support additional vehicular and truck traffic. That investment includes $940,000 in Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative grant money.
The improvements are also meant to enable “continued industrial and commercial development in the area,” the IEDC said.
“We will continue to work with landowners and developers to identify projects that fit our county and create new family-sustaining jobs; this is a great first start,” said Lake County District Councilman Randy Neimeyer.
The IEDC said it is working with the company to finalize an incentive package. Lake County is also considering additional incentives.