Home décor distributor heads to Northwest Indiana   Hosley International Trading Corporation, one of the nation's largest distributors of home décor items, will consolidate two Illinois distribution centers into 305,500 square feet at Holladay Properties' AmeriPlex At The Port in Portage, Indiana.   This facility was selected over several Illinois options because of its' superior distribution location, immediate access to three major interstates and low gross operational costs, according to Hosley's representatives Lee & Associates of Illinois' Justin Fierz and Brian Vanosky.   George J. Cibula, Cindy L. Bischof, and Christopher Gary of Darwin Realty & Development Corporation represented the landlord, The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, in this lease transaction.   The 517,000-square-foot building, known as The Fullerton-Ameriplex is located at 6750 Daniel Burnham Drive within AmeriPlex At The Port, a 385-acre mixed-use development fronting Interstate 94 near I-80/90 junction. The 30-foot clear height building is expandable to 1 million square feet. 3PL expands at IDI's Rock Run   Madison Warehouse Corporation has signed a long-term lease with IDI to occupy 393,095 square feet in Building 7 at Rock Run Business Park, located about one mile east of the intersection of Interstates 55 and 80 in Joliet.   Scheduled to take occupancy of Build 7 in May, the third-party logistics provider currently occupies 544,456 square feet of space in two other IDI buildings at Rock Run.   "Madison continues to grow," said Jeff Smith, vice president of leasing and development in IDI's Chicago office. "The company recently was awarded a multi-year contract from a large consumer products company, and it needed significantly more inventory space."   A total of 116,000 square feet of space remains available in Building 7, and 100,060 square feet of inventory space is available in the park's Building 4. Jack Cozzie, industrial sector senior vice president at Grubb & Ellis, represented Madison Warehouse in the lease deal. Cushman & Wakefield was the listing broker on the building for IDI. 3PL renews at Ryan's Laraway Crossings   Arnold Logistics, the first tenant at Laraway Crossing Business Park in Joliet, has completed a lease renewal for 374,400 square feet at Spec One, 251 Laraway Road. Last fall, Cadbury Schweppes also signed a 475,000-square-feet lease at Ryan Companies US Inc.'s second spec building.   This sustained activity at Laraway in Joliet and throughout Will County will likely spur the development of a third speculative building at the 352-acre master planned park, according to Gunther Lubben, director of development, Ryan Companies.   Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler is responsible for marketing Laraway Crossings. Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based Arnold Logistics provides logistics services including warehousing, fulfillment, contract packaging/manufacturing, reverse logistics and transportation.   "As long as market forces dictate, we will continue to develop property that meets the needs of users in this high profile and key transportation and logistics market," Lubben said.   Laraway Spec One ultimately is expandable to 720,000 square feet and features 30-foot clear ceiling height, an ESFR sprinkler system, 40 exterior truck docks, and parking for 162 cars and 51 trailers.   David Bercu and Greg Pacelli, both of Colliers B&K, represented Ryan Companies in the lease transaction. Keith Stauber also of Colliers B&K represented Arnold Logistics.   According to the First Quarter Industrial Market Report produced by Colliers B&K the vacancy rate in the I-80 market was 12.1 percent.   "The numbers moving forward look even better than the first quarter report indicates," Bercu said. "Velocity and interest have picked up substantially, providing optimism for the balance of 2006." Industrial portfolio sale sparks new joint venture   In the largest Chicago industrial portfolio sale thus far in 2006, CB Richard Ellis represented Value Industrial Partners (VIP) in the sale of an interest in their 47-property, 2.3 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in the Chicago area.   Dallas-based INVESCO Real Estate purchased an undisclosed interest and has committed new equity to the joint venture between the two parties. With an additional 650,000+/- square feet already purchased or under contract, the new INVESCO/VIP joint venture is poised to grow into a dominant figure in the highly sought-after Chicago industrial market.   CB Richard Ellis' Michael Caprile and Ted Staszak represented VIP in the sale. "This transaction is a win/win for both parties involved. From VIP's standpoint, it gives them market pricing for their current portfolio along with a capital source to grow their base at a much more rapid pace," Caprile said. "For INVESCO, it offers the unique opportunity to both purchase a critical mass of product in Chicago along with the opportunity to grow that platform with the expertise of Value Industrial Partners."   Primarily comprised of well-located, second-generation industrial buildings less than 75,000 square feet in size, the portfolio's geographic diversification in 11 different industrial submarkets is supplemented by its tenant diversity and strong 95 percent occupancy level.   The majority of the buildings in the portfolio were owned by VIP, which was formed in 1996 by Brian Liston of Darwin Realty and Development Corp. and John Horrigan of Horrigan Advisors Inc. The portfolio, managed and owned in part by VIP and its principals, is owned substantially by private investors through a series of partnerships, limited liability corporations, and tenant-in-common structures.   According to Caprile, "With investor demand at an all-time high, the barriers to entry have created a need for institutional capital to join forces with local operating companies in order to source affordable investment opportunities. The VIP/INVESCO joint venture is designed to combine local market expertise with an abundant capital source."   Specializing in the acquisition and disposition of institutional office and industrial investment assets, the CB Richard Ellis Team of Caprile, Staszak and Stephanie Park completed transactions valued at $2.3 billion in 2005. The team has already closed or put under contract over $800 million since the beginning of 2006. ML Realty acquires 1.5 million square feet of industrial   Itasca-based ML Realty Partners has recently acquired nine single- and multi-tenant industrial manufacturing/distribution facilities. The properties total 1,563,000 square feet and are located throughout the Chicago area.   In Elk Grove Village, ML Realty bought 2250 Lively Boulevard, 108,315 square feet; 2301 Greenleaf Avenue, 63,080 square feet; and 2080-2140 Lunt Avenue, 149,120 square feet. In Bridgeview, the firm bought 7770 - 7830 W. 71st Street, 491,633 square feet; and 8811 S. 77th Avenue, 175,647 square feet. Other purchases include 1222 Crosslink Parkway, Belvidere, 180,000 square feet; and 835-45 Lively Boulevard, Wood Dale, 65,642 square feet.   "The brokerage community has been instrumental in helping us grow our portfolio, as they know we will close without any surprises to their clients," said Peter B. Harmon, executive vice president of ML Realty.   In the first quarter of 2006, ML Realty also completed Highland Corporate Center #2, a 328,709-square-foot speculative development in Bolingbrook.     Editorial contact: Paula Widholm, editor, 312-644-7137 pwidholm@rejournals.com   Advertising contact: Kathleen Schneider, associate publisher, 312-644-6976 kschneider@rejournals.com