Hilco Redevelopment Partners, a unit of Hilco Global, announced today the purchase and acquisition of the Crawford Power Generating Station site from NRG Energy in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood.

The Crawford site previously operated as a coal-fired power plant since the late 1920’s before being decommissioned in 2012. Hilco Redevelopment Partners, based in suburban Northbrook, will undertake comprehensive remediation of the industrial site before proceeding with redevelopment. NRG Energy selected Hilco after an extensive process to sell the property.

“When we closed down Chicago’s last two coal plants, we committed to creating a cleaner, brighter and more sustainable future for Chicago’s neighborhoods,” Mayor Emanuel said. “I look forward to working with Hilco Redevelopment Partners to turn this site from a vestige of Chicago’s past to a vibrant part of our shared future.”

Remediation work will begin soon at the Crawford site, may take anywhere from 14-24 months depending on site conditions, and will be completed in accordance with the highest safety and comprehensive industrial regulatory standards. The plan is to begin demolition after the site has been safely abated of any potentially hazardous materials that may present environmental concerns to the community, city or regulators. During this time, Hilco Redevelopment Partners will be in regular communication with community leaders and residents on the project’s progress while also creating a redevelopment plan for the highest and best use of the property. The company has launched a website to share updates and information at www.crawfordstation.com.

“A true hallmark of Hilco’s mission is to return economic opportunity to industrial sites that have run their useful life,” said Roberto Perez, Managing Partner, President, Hilco Redevelopment Partners. “We see the Crawford site as a transformational opportunity to take 70-acres of urban infill industrial land from an obsolete facility and eyesore to a modern and robust economic engine in the neighborhood. This location and current zoning classification offers great potential to serve as a last-mile distribution and logistics facility given its proximity to such a significant population center.”

Added Alderman Ricardo Munoz, 22nd Ward: “This is an exciting development for the Little Village community. The Hilco Redevelopment team understands that we have a terrific labor pool that can support the type of “new economy” businesses that they expect to attract to the site. This will be a terrific boost to the economy in Little Village and throughout Chicago.”

Hilco Redevelopment Partners is a unit of holding company Hilco Global, with offices in Northbrook and Chicago. Hilco brings a wealth of relevant experience to the 70-acre Crawford site having managed numerous remediation, recycling and redevelopment projects with similar highly complex brownfield sites. Some current examples include:

Tradepoint Atlantic, Baltimore, MD – Hilco Global purchased the 3,100-acre industrial former home of Bethlehem Steel. Beginning in 2012, Hilco Redevelopment Partners decommissioned and remediated the site before redeveloping it into the largest tri-modal logistics hub on the eastern seaboard of the USA. Following the remediation and demolition, Hilco Redevelopment Partners has signed long-term leases and has built or will be building logistics facilities for FedEx Ground, Amazon and Under Armour, with more to be announced this year.

Summer Street, Boston, MA – Hilco purchased the former Boston Power Generating Station owned by Exelon Corporation. The 15-acre site includes fourteen buildings totaling 261,000 square feet of office and industrial assets. The Hilco team is in the process of remediating and redeveloping the site.

The Gauge, Boston, MA – Hilco is redeveloping the former site of an automobile temperature gauge manufacturing facility into 130,000 square feet of creative office and R&D space.

Hilco Redevelopment Partner’s other projects include the modernization project of One North LaSalle, a capital-intensive project to upgrade and update tenant amenities to an art deco era office building in the city’s Central Loop; decommissioning and redeveloping a Sony factory; numerous GM, Ford and Chrysler facilities; and a Cooper Tire plant.

“The acquisition of Crawford is a significant addition to our growing portfolio of commercial and industrial real estate across North America,” said Hilco Global Chairman and CEO Jeffery Hecktman. “Over the course of the past several years we have been successfully acquiring and redeveloping obsolete properties in cities across the country, bringing new economic life to these urban areas in need of revitalization and opportunity.”