A total of 3.9 million square feet of industrial space was delivered in the Chicago market during the fourth quarter of 2025. That might not seem like a huge number compared to pre-pandemic norms, but it is a significant increase over the 575,466 square feet delivered in the third quarter of last year.
Overall, though, the Chicago market saw a sizable drop in industrial deliveries last year when compared to 2024.
That’s one of the key trends highlighted in NAI Hiffman’s Construction Pipeline Report for the Chicago metropolitan area, a report released earlier this week.
In its report, NAI Hiffman says that the increase in industrial deliveries in the third quarter suggests that the Chicago-area industrial market is gradually returning to its pre-pandemic pace. It doesn’t mean, though, that the local industrial market will suddenly see a boom of new deliveries.
NAI Hiffman reported that the 11.3 million square feet of industrial space was delivered to the Chicago market in 2025. That is a significant decline from the 15.9 million square feet delivered in 2024.
As of the end of 2025, 13.6 million square feet of industrial space was under construction in the Chicago market, NAI Hiffman reported. Build-to-suit buildings accounted for 7.3 million square feet or 53.5% of these projects.
Speculative developments fell to 6.4 million square feet or 46.5% of ongoing projects, NAI Hiffman added.
The I-80/Joliet submarket ranked as the top spot for industrial completions in 2025 with 2.8 million square feet of deliveries, NAI Hiffman said. This is largely because of the 1.2-million-square-foot GE facility that was delivered here in the first quarter of 2025.
The Northwest Indiana submarket ranked second with 1.9 million square feet of industrial space delivered in 2025, while the I-55 corridor ranked third with 1.6 million square feet of completions.
