Chicago Set New High in 2023 Industrial Construction Completions

Chicago set a new high in industrial completions in 2023, with a record 40.1 million square feet of new industrial construction delivered, according to a report from Colliers. The record high represented an annual total 28 percent greater than the previous annual record of 31.3 million square feet recorded last year.

Collier’s 2023 Q4 Chicago Industrial Market Report highlighted that speculative construction dominated in 2023, as developers completed 99 buildings totaling 33.1 million square feet, representing 82 percent of the deliveries. The industrial vacancy rate climbed steadily across all four quarters of 2023, as a result of a rise in these speculative completions.

The rate escalated by nearly one percentage point, moving from 4.5 percent at the close of 2022 to 5.25 percent by the end of December. Additionally, the new leasing volume totaled 8 million square feet during the fourth quarter of 2023, bringing the year-end total to 35.6 million square feet.

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