Erlen Group subsidiary plans $57M expansion

Christina Angle: Cold Zone is growing with its clients.

Tiffany Batdorf: Prospects are eyeing remaining lands in PIC West.

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A subsidiary of Springfield-based Erlen Group is expanding to Partnership Industrial Center West, which officials say is nearing full occupancy.

Cold Zone, a provider of cold storage logistics solutions, broke ground June 20 on a $57 million, 170,000-square-foot facility in the northwest Springfield industrial center, according to a news release from the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. The new facility is in addition to Cold Zone’s three buildings spanning 400,000 square feet in Erlen Group’s Springfield Underground, said Christina Angle, chief financial officer for Erlen Group.

Cold Zone, which currently has 40 employees, intends to add 25 jobs as part of the expansion, Angle said.

“The Springfield region has a strong food processing and manufacturing industry. Cold Zone has been fortunate to grow with our clients in this industry since 2008 by providing exceptional logistics solutions and first-class service,” Angle said via email. “With Springfield Underground full, we are excited to bring our capabilities to the ‘surface.’”

Angle said Erlen Group purchased the 46-acre site in PIC West in January for undisclosed terms. Edwardsville, Illinois-based Contegra Construction Co. is serving as the project’s general contractor, she said, projecting a completion date in fall 2025. A rendering provided by the chamber names Irvine, California-based design firm Ware Malcomb.

Chamber officials say Cold Zone’s facility is being built at PIC West’s Site K, which is located on the southwest side of the industrial park, just south of Division Street.

Roughly 80 acres across six sites remain in PIC West’s original 388 acres, according to the release, and the Site K purchase marks the fourth site to sell in the past 12 months. 

Tiffany Batdorf, vice president of communications and community relations for the chamber, said other companies that have purchased sites in PIC West during the past year are UPS, Sho-Me Fabrication LLC and Youngstown Glove Co.

“Our goal is to find users that elevate the local economic landscape through investments in manufacturing, or industries that support manufacturing, such as Cold Zone, which as a project will allow local food manufacturers the capacity to expand themselves,” Batdorf said via email.

She said the remaining acreage in PIC West ranges from 6 acres to 22.5 acres. Tentative deals are in the works for a portion of the remaining land.

“We do currently have active interest in at least two separate sites for two separate businesses which total 25 acres,” said Batdorf, noting partners of the Springfield Business Development Corp., the economic development arm of the chamber, own the unsold land.

Erlen Group, which is in the process of developing land on the surface of Springfield Underground, was able to find a site that was closer to build-ready with the land in PIC West, Angle said. She noted, too, that the industrial park land is adjacent to Erlen Group’s Westside Stone operation.

“There is an ongoing shortage of quality cold storage in the region, and we wanted to jump on the opportunity to expand our Cold Zone operation,” she said. “The timeline for infrastructure at our other properties and the current demand for cold storage meant that we had to look at other real estate options.”