Joliet's Lion Electric Plant For Sale: Are You Ready To Buy This Giant Empty Building?

JOLIET, IL — Lion Electric was supposed to be one of Joliet's greatest economic development success stories over the next decade. Lion proclaimed it would bring more than 1,400 manufacturing jobs to the region as workers mass produced 20,000 electric school buses annually. Then, in less than two years after opening, the Quebec-based company fell apart. The Joliet facility at 3835 Youngs Road near Route 6 in Channahon has remained shuttered all of this year.

Lion Electric said it planned to employ 324 workers during its first year of operation in Joliet. That total was supposed to climb to 372 employees in year two; 745 employees in year three and reach 1,418 employees in its fourth year of operation.

Now, Joliet Patch has learned that the property is on the real estate market.

Signs are displayed throughout the gigantic industrial property, letting everyone know that Cushman & Wakefield is the real estate company handling the listing and prospective buyers should call Jason West.

"Set on 59.83 acres, the property features a vast parking field and expansive land, offering exceptional flexibility for future building or parking expansion. This rare scalability adds significant value for corporate users and tenants, as it supports business growth and changing needs without requiring relocation," the real estate listing on LoopNet reads.

The listing on LoopNet does not disclose a sale price.

Governor Pritzker Visits Joliet To Tour Electric Vehicles Being Made In His State

Back in May 2021, Joliet Patch reported that Quebec-based Lion Electric now occupied the newly built 906,517-square-foot industrial building on Joliet's Youngs Road and claimed it would make an investment of about $120 million in new machinery and equipment.

The expansion of Lion Electric into the United States, specifically, Joliet and Illinois, marked a huge celebration for Governor JB Pritzker. Pritzker made two different trips to the Lion Electric plant in Joliet, one in 2021 when the facility was being built and he returned in the summer of 2023 to attend one of the largest ribbon-cutting ceremonies you will ever see.

On July 21, 2023, around 600 people attended the ribbon-cutting inside Lion Electric and the event included Illinois' political star power: Congressman Bill Foster, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, Senators Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin joined Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy celebrating the grand opening of the first new automotive production plant in Illinois in decades.

"We all know fossil fuel emissions are a contributing factor to global warming," Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy announced at the Lion Electric grand opening ribbon cutting. "That is why what Lion Electric is doing is so important. This company has made it its mission to take the lead in moving our nation from a reliance on gas and oil to electric vehicles which is better for our environment and for protecting our planet for generations to come.

"As someone who understands transportation and automotive needs, I truly appreciate the technology Lion is instituting to improve the environment and the future for all of us. Thank you to the leadership of Lion Electric for choosing our city for your new facility."

In May 2021, a news release issued by Lion Electric stated that as part of its agreement with the state of Illinois, Lion has committed to an initial investment of at least $70 million over a 3-year period.

The 900,000 square-foot facility was expected to add a minimum of 745 clean energy direct jobs to the region over the next three years, with an annual production capacity of up to 20,000 all-electric buses and trucks, the company announced.

But by the end of 2024, Lion Electric was in trouble, serious trouble.

Last December, a Canadian news outlet published the following headline: "Quebec's Lion Electric temporarily lays off more than half of remaining workforce." The story reported that "manufacturing operations at its plant in Joliet will be halted due to the layoffs. The company did not specify what effect the reduction in staff would have on its operations in Mirabel and Saint-Jérôme in the Laurentians."

Back in May, Joliet Patch broke the news revealing that the equipment inside the Joliet facility was being sold off on May 15 at a public auction. "Public Auction Due to closure of US EV Manufacturing facility – Short Notice!" the Workingman Capital website reads.