In the previous cycle, office and retail were the favorites of lenders. Today, it’s multifamily and industrial that have them vying for deals.

That sea-change was just one of the ways in which the industrial sector has evolved–and continues to evolve rapidly. The more than 350 industry professionals who converged at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, IL on Wednesday for Connect Industrial Midwest heard a cross-section of industrial heavyweights delve into these changes and offer insights into where the sector is headed next.

The afternoon’s insights began with a keynote interview of 40-year industrial broker Lynn Reich by her friend and onetime coworker Mark Goode, founding principal of Venture One. They concluded with a candid discussion of finance by a panel of lenders who are active in the industrial space.

In between, a panel of leading owner/developers held forth on what they’re seeing–with an emphasis on the development side of things. Two subsequent conversations offered close-up views of last-mile logistics and two specialty product types that are seeing rapid growth: cold storage and cannabis production.

Over the next few days, we’ll take a deeper dive into the individual panels that comprised Connect Media’s first Midwest-specific event on the industrial sector.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny