General Mills breaks ground on massive distribution center
General Mills broke ground Thursday on its new 1.3 million square-foot food storage and distribution center, located at the intersection of Irene Road and U.S. 20.
The facility, which will be built on an 11-acre site, is expected to create between 50 and 100 new jobs for the area.
Belvidere and Boone County invested in the area about 15 years ago, and Mayor Clint Morris says the groundbreaking is only the first step in developing the land.
“I believe that you have to have the first hinge pin in, and after that, what do they say? ‘Build it and we will come.’ I think, with General Mills’ investment, I think we’ll see further investment, no doubt,” he said.
The project is expected to be completed in 2023.
A ceremonial groundbreaking held on August 25, 2022 marked the official start of construction on the future home of General Mills’ 1.3-million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center, in Belvidere, Illinois.
This facility, located on 111 acres at the intersection of Irene Road and U.S. Route 20, will serve as a Midwest distribution hub for General Mills. It will include food grade improvements such as vertical storing dock levelers and pest intrusion prevention. The distribution center will also have lean and productive technologies, such as autonomous guided vehicle material handling systems.
“This facility will allow us to meet the needs of our Midwest customers in a timely and cost- efficient manner, while providing between 55-75 permanent full-time jobs and approximately 500 construction jobs working on the site over the next 16 months,” stated General Mills Director of Global Real Estate Tom Hogan.
The parking area will accommodate 492 trailer parking spaces and 226 car parking spaces with provisions for electric vehicle charging for both on-site and over-the-road vehicles.
Selecting and securing the site for this new facility, which is expandable up to 1.7 million square feet, involved discussions and planning, with developer Scannell Properties, in collaboration with the City of Belvidere, Boone County and Growth Dimensions Economic Development.
The City of Belvidere and Boone County collectively worked to make the annexation of the property into the City of Belvidere as streamlined as possible, with the cooperation from the County Board and City Council.
In addition to the construction of the new facility, Irene Road will also see an overhaul to accommodate current and future traffic flow. It will be realigned to provide a straighter traffic pattern which will allow driving ease for personal vehicles and semitrucks and trailers. Because of commitments from Scannell Properties and General Mills, along with funding from the State of Illinois, the road project will not come at the expense of taxpayers.
Representative Dave Vella, who represents the 38th District, along with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) were instrumental in securing funding through the Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the Truck Access Route Program (TARP), and the Economic Development Program (EDP).
The building, designed by Pinnacle Engineering, is slated to be completed by Fall 2023.