In 2024, the construction of new large-scale retail developments slowed significantly, with only 27 buildings of 200,000 square feet or more completed, totaling 13.5 million square feet, according to a recent report by Colliers.

This marks the lowest level of big box construction since 2018 when only 10.2 million square feet were built. Out of these completed projects, three were larger than 1.0 million square feet. Speculative construction also decreased, with only 8.8 million square feet across 21 buildings built in 2024, representing a 67.7 percent decrease from the 27.4 million square feet completed in 2023.

At the end of 2024, 12 buildings totaling 5.9 million square feet were still under construction, with two of these being speculative projects. Chicago’s big box industrial market consists of 834 facilities totaling 381 million square feet, 85 percent of which is institutionally-owned, while the remaining 15 percent is owner-occupied.