Brown secures industrial space expansion

Aug. 18, 2023 –Brokers Pat Crowley and Candace Scurto worked with two expanding companies to secure industrial space expansion leases in the Chicago industrial market. Crowley represented the tenant, Isutami USA, LLC in nearly doubling its space with a 12,588-SF lease at 1525 Ardmore Ave. in Itasca, Illinois. The company is expanding its U.S. distribution footprint in the Chicago suburban market.

The property is in the North DuPage County submarket, which has a 2.53% vacancy rate and remains a sought-after submarket due to its location and lower tax structure than Cook County. Based on the limited availability of space, tenants will be challenged to find space until new speculative construction is introduced in the submarket. The vacancy rate throughout DuPage County hovers below 3.6%.

Scurto negotiated an 8,000-SF lease on nearly two acres for school transportation services company Safeway Transportation, Inc. The company needed a location in the Glenview area that had outdoor storage for its vehicles. Glenview is located in Chicago’s north suburban market, which has a 2.07% vacancy rate for industrial space. There were seven speculative buildings totaling 1.7 msf under construction at the end of the second quarter, the most space under construction at one time in the submarket’s history, according to Colliers research. When this new space delivers, it should help increase availability in that submarket.

Brown Commercial Group’s Mid-Year report noted strong demand and a shortage of industrial space throughout Chicago’s industrial sector, particularly in the O’Hare submarket and DuPage County. Many Chicago industrial markets are recording vacancy rates below 4%, a sign of strength for the market, but one that creates challenges for tenants looking for industrial expansion space.

See the IL Real Estate Journal story for more on these industrial space expansion leases.