DeKALB – The completion of the Kraft Heinz building has been delayed by two years and it is now expected to open in 2027.
In an email to City Manager Bill Nicklas and DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes dated Oct. 10, Sarah Doran, associate director of State Government Affairs for Kraft Heinz, gave city officials talking points to address the delay in construction.
“We’ve recently experienced a construction delay,” Doran said in the email. “The parties involved are working to address the issue and we expect to open the facility sometime in 2027.”
The Northern Star discovered this information after reviewing emails from the city related to Kraft Heinz, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA) to the City of DeKalb.
Portions of the email have been redacted under exemptions to information requests contained in 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(k).
Kraft Heinz did not respond to requests for comment.
The company completing the construction is Krusinski Construction Company.
On Sept. 4 Jerry Krusinski, CEO of Krusinski Construction Company, informed Barnes that Kraft Heinz would direct communications with the city from then on.
In response to a request for a status update from Barnes, Krusinski asked Virginia Mann, a public relations officer, to reach out to Kraft Heinz to provide a response to city officials.
The city subsequently began to communicate with a public relations officer and corporate officers from Kraft Heinz.
Nicklas responded in the emails that the city was seeking guidance on how to address the public on the matter in a way that was in Kraft Heinz best interest. In the email response, Nicklas said the lack of progress on the automated storage retrieval system was a “topic of regional conversation.”
Nicklas said there are aspects of the design that are the focus of negotiation within the construction companies involved on the project.
“That’s really all I can say about that because I’m not privy to it,” Nicklas said. “I’m not part of that discussion.”
Nicklas said the design of the automated retrieval system was novel and that the contractor and Kraft Heinz were trying to get it right.
“Some of the pieces have slowed and that changes, on a month by month basis, the ultimate completion date,” he said.
In May 2024, Nicklas informed 6th Ward Alderman Mike Verbic in an email that the project was making significant progress but there were some difficulties that were being addressed.
The project for the $400 million, 775,000 square foot facility was announced in July 2023 and was expected to be completed by 2025.
The project is referenced in the emails as “Project Supernova” and also mentioned directly as the Kraft Heinz project.
The building is expected to bring more than 150 jobs to the area and will be one of the largest automated consumer packaged goods distribution centers in North America, according to the press release from Kraft Heinz.
