Chicago & Midwest | February 7, 2019

Spec Dominates Chicago Industrial Development

Speculative industrial is still going strong in Chicago, with 19.5 million square feet of new space under construction, says Avison Young. Even as the 59% year-over-year increase points to continued bullish outlook for demand, though, some experts are watching certain submarkets for overbuilding.

“Industrial businesses, particularly those in the logistics and food service areas, continue to focus on the Chicago area market,” said Avison Young’s Chris Lydon (pictured). “Many submarkets that are closer to the city have little to no space available for new buildings, so we’re continuing to see spec development moving to outlying submarkets such as Southern Wisconsin.”

Southern Wisconsin led all submarkets in new construction with 4.9 million square feet delivered in the fourth quarter of 2018, up 50% over Q3. In the O’Hare submarket, although the 1.6 million square feet of construction underway “will ultimately increase market activity,” Lydon said demand will remain “solid” throughout 2019.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).