The Erlen Group Brings Business Above Ground

No, the Springfield Underground doesn’t store the government’s secret cheese stash. But what it does have is 3.2 million square feet of leasable space, all protected from the outdoor elements, with 40% of the Underground being refrigerated or frozen. While there are roughly 400 facilities like it in the U.S., Springfield’s is the only one with rail access.

That one-of-a-kind operation is owned and managed by the Erlen Group. “We go from rocks to real estate, so we’re an aggregates company first,” says Vice President of Development Bob Newell. “We do both open-pit and underground mining. When we are underground mining, the end result of that sometimes is underground real estate that we develop and lease out.”

They have been operating cold zone storage for many years, with one of their biggest clients being Vital Farms—a provider of pasture-raised eggs and poultry products. Their headquarters are in Austin, Texas, but they house their Egg Central Station (ECS) here on the west side of town. The Erlen Group first started getting eggs from Vital Farms eight years ago, and it has since grown exponentially. Today, two buildings in the Underground are dedicated to storing nest run eggs, and the operation recently expanded to include finished goods storage as well. 

With Vital Farms’ rapid growth, the limitations of the Underground, and the distance between ECS and the Underground, the Erlen Group made a bold decision: to build above-ground cold zone storage. The new building will be only half a mile away from ECS, whereas the Underground is about 14 miles away. Newells goal is to be in the new building by August 1.