Residents Balk At Massive 'Project Jupiter' Distribution Center

PLAINFIELD, IL — The Village of Plainfield Plan Commission on Tuesday is set to discuss a proposal by developer Seefried Industrial Properties for a two-million square-foot warehouse and office project that would be built northwest of the 143rd Street/Steiner Road intersection. The proposal, also referred to as "Project Jupiter," would include parking for 408 passenger vehicles, 500 trailer parking stalls, 26 fleet tractors stalls, three docks and, according to a petition against the project, 900 semi-trucks going in and out per day.

Atlanta-based Seefried Industrial Properties, which has a Midwest regional office in Des Plaines, is asking that the 137 acres be annexed into Plainfield and rezoned for office, research and light industrial use. Currently, the property is zoned for agriculture in Will County, and is made up of vacant farmland, according to village documents. Seefried currently has a contract to purchase the farmland for the project, anticipating it could be completed by late 2019 or early 2020.

The project calls for two large precast concrete buildings with a combined two million square feet, with truck dock on the east and west sides of each building. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

An open house on the project was held Aug. 15, and most of the written feedback provided to the plan commission was negative. Here's a sampling of comments and emails submitted by residents:

• "Plainfield does not currently have the road infrastructure to support the proposed semi traffic."
• "This does not belong in Plainfield. It belongs where all the other distribution centers already are — with direct access to highways."
• "Fumes from the trucks will cause diseases. We have residents with cancer, cystic fibrosis and lupus. This could kill them and you will be sued."
• "I moved 30 miles out to Plainfield to get my family away from the crazy city life where I grew up. I wanted a better life for my son but here we go again facing big issues with dangerous truck drivers and even worse traffic than we have ever seen."

A memo to the plan commission says a traffic study for the project projected:

• 1,780 daily passenger vehicle trips for employees
• 250 daily long-distance truck trips
• 130 daily shuttle truck trips between the warehouse and manufacturing plant
• 2,160 total trips

As of Monday evening, 775 people had signed a petition asking the village board to vote no when Project Jupiter comes up for a vote.

"The Preliminary Traffic Review for Proposal Industrial Warehouse Development obtained a memo from the potential developer that states it estimates a daily truck volume of 910 trips, including 50 trips per hour during the morning peak period," the petition says, citing public health concerns, safety issues due to schools and residential homes in the nearby Dayfield and Liberty Grove subdivisions, noise generated by passing truck traffic and traffic issues.

The petition urged residents to attend Monday's village board meeting, though the project was not on the agenda, as well as Tuesday's plan commission meeting, and email village officials and the planning department.

A Facebook group, originally established to oppose a trucking terminal on Renwick Road, has now been renamed to encompass Project Jupiter and is now called Citizens United for Responsible Transportation Plainfield. The developer for the Renwick Road project withdrew the application after strong opposition from Plainfield-area residents.

Documents related to Project Jupiter are posted on the Village of Plainfield website.

Rendering via Village of Plainfield documents