Brown Commercial Group has negotiated an industrial building sale in Chicago’s O’Hare submarket that included outdoor storage, a desirable feature that allows businesses to store trucks and equipment on-site. As transportation and logistics activity has expanded over the past several years, outdoor storage space has been in high demand, creating a shortage throughout the Chicago market.
Broker Candace Scurto represented a private investor in selling the 7,000-square-foot building on a one-acre site at 2082 Estes Ave. in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, to RA Peterson Company. The buyer, an asphalt maintenance company, was expanding in the market and needed outdoor storage for its vehicles and equipment. The buyer was represented by Brown Commercial Group Vice President of Sales Jim Pietrarosso.
The buyer plans to renovate the exterior of the building, improve drainage and install fencing on the property. The majority of the building will be used for warehouse space, with 2,000 square feet allocated for employee office space.
Scurto also represented Lotus Metal in leasing a 3,000-square-foot space at 345 Lively Blvd. in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
Jeff Holmes of Regional Realty represented the landlord.
The O’Hare industrial submarket continues to experience strong tenant demand and a shortage of space. The submarket recorded 860,000 square feet of net absorption over the past year with about 600,000 square feet of that total coming from the logistics sector, according to CoStar research. Ongoing construction activity and new building starts dramatically dropped during 23Q1 and hasn’t increased significantly. There is approximately 190,000 square feet under construction that should deliver over the next eight quarters, which won’t go far in satisfying tenants trying to enter or expand in this submarket. While vacancy inched up by approximately 0.8% over the past year, it still is at a historically tight 3.3%.
The supply-demand equation is helping to boost rents, which increased by nearly 8% over the past year, reaching another all-time high of $10.60 per square foot. This is approximately 15% above the metropolitan area’s average. Logistics properties are commanding the highest rents versus specialized or flex industrial properties.
