Chicago & Midwest + Greater Chicagoland + Industrial | May 3, 2021

Tenants in Healthcare, Retail, E-Commerce Drive Chicago Industrial Demand

The Chicago industrial market continued its hot streak in the first quarter, with strong tenant demand from large corporate healthcare, retail and e-commerce businesses supporting activity throughout the market, according to Avison Young’s Q1 2021 Industrial Report.

The surge in demand for last-mile distribution space has pushed activity into infill locations throughout Chicago and some outlying submarkets. Developers are scouring the West Cook submarket, for example, Avison Young reported.

“Chicago’s infill industrial sites continue to be in strong demand, with large developers and investors paying a premium for locations that tie into the city’s strong population base,” said Steve Kohn, principal, industrial service, with Avison Young’s Chicago office. “Many tenants are having challenges finding space in this super low vacancy environment.”

Activity is also increasing across state lines in northwest Indiana. Industrial expansion in northwest Indiana is following a similar pattern of growth in recent years in Southeast Wisconsin.

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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).