LOWELL, Ind. — Just days after announcing more than 600 layoffs within its manufacturing workforce, agricultural machinery giant John Deere and Co. closed on the purchase of 234 acres of undeveloped land in northwest Indiana in order to construct a 1.2 million square foot warehouse and distribution center expected to employ hundreds of workers. The seemingly contradictory purchase was not announced by Deere as of Farm World press time, though it was confirmed in a press release issued by Coldwell Banker Commercial Realty along with the Lowell, Ind., Chamber of Commerce.

According to Coldwell Banker, the construction of the facility is expected to generate 1,200 construction jobs and create 400-500 permanent positions when opened. The width of the warehouse will be longer than the height of the 1,729-ft Willis Tower, which is located around 60 miles to the west. The facility’s development site has direct frontage on Interstate 65 South and Indiana Route 2, which will allow for easy access to the Chicago industrial pipeline. 

“We at the Lowell Chamber of Commerce are very excited for this business to be coming to the town of Lowell, Indiana. We look forward to having them here, as well as the positive economic impact for our community that will surely happen,” said Nancy Frigo, president of the Lowell Chamber of Commerce. “South Lake County is ripe and ready to grow with this type of development and provides easy access to the crossroads of America. The prime location is minutes to major highways, the Illinois border, the Skyway to Chicago, Routes 30 and 231, and a new hospital that is currently under construction. The site has gas, sewer and water availability.”

Deere purchased the site from Hallmark Construction Co. for $7 million with Coldwell Banker Commercial Realty representing the seller. According to Lake County Planning and Building Administrator Steve Nigro, the rezoning was approved and the board is currently awaiting the site development plan, the Times of Northwest Indiana reported on July 2. 

Deere intends to invest up to $125 million in the project, dubbed Tempo, the same source revealed, including $100 million for construction, $15 million for equipment and $10 million in miscellaneous costs.

In addition, attorney James L. Wieser, who represented the developer, stated that there are plans to further expand the project by roughly 500,000 to 700,000 square feet, according to news sources. 

Just days prior to Coldwell Banker’s announcement, John Deere laid off workers at facilities in East Moline, Illinois, and Davenport and Dubuque, Iowa. Officials claimed the layoffs were necessary due to a reduction in demand for products produced at some of its facilities in Iowa and Illinois.

Twice this year Deere has lowered its full-year profit forecast due to a large downturn in farm machinery purchases. The company also cut its profit outlook to $7 billion after initially producing projections in the range of $7.75 billion to $8.25 billion.

As of July 13, Deere had not confirmed the land purchase via news release or other media notification methods.