Jll Chicago Industrial - Real Time

Sean Reynolds of JLL's Chicago Data Center Practice Group returns to the podcast to talk about the data center real estate environment as the year comes to a close. Topics include power requirements and power sources, infill markets, demand for data centers, transaction velocity in today's real estate environment, construction time and cost.

Episode 52 features Andrew Volz, JLL America's research lead for Project and Development Services (PDS). In this episode, we discuss the findings of the 2023 US and Canada Construction Outlook report. The construction pipeline remains robust and year-over-year construction costs remain up despite a drop in pricing for select materials.  While declining buildings starts will relieve some price pressures, infrastructure projects and international demand for select materials are likely to offset relief, leading to more moderate growth rates for prices rather than a net drop. Industrial occupiers have been faced with a persistent shortage of skilled labor - a driving factor in wage increases in the construction sector. After Andrew sets the stage with the state of the industry, George and Chad dive into the key considerations with industrial construction including concrete supply, roofing materials and the electrification of buildings.   While speculative industrial construction may taper off in 2023 and

Episode 51 features Justin Fierz, Founding Principal of Midwest Industrial Funds along with Sam Durkin and Steve Trapp to discuss the Palatine Corporate Center  Topics Include JLL’s involvement with the site started back in 2019 with disposition of the former Weber Grill Manufacturing Campus. Sam and Steve were also involved with another disposition across the street which was redeveloped as a last mile delivery station. Palatine is not typically thought of as an industrial destination, but has a some large corporate occupiers and key parcel distribution hubs. Midwest Industrial Funds was able to secure approvals and close on the 25 acre site during the midst of the Covid lockdowns in 2020. A two-building plan of 275,388 s.f. and 150,042 s.f. was laid out to appeal to a wide range of potential tenants. S&C Electric, was founded in 1909 and is a Chicago-based manufacturer specializing in the switching, protection, and control of electric power systems. S&C will maintain their large manufacturing plant

Episode 50 features a previous guest, Josh Grozdin partner relations manager with the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center.   IMEC has a team of experts with previous careers across various manufacturing sectors that can help with data, whitepapers, and hands on training. The organziation offers services for small manufacturers such as helping to improve process workflow via systematic plant layouts to achieve lean manufacturing inititatives and ISO Certification.  In addition, IMEC is also accepting applications for the Cook County Manufacturing Reinvented grant program.  Tune in to hear about how IMEC can be a resource for all Illinois manufacturing operations and how to take advantage of their services and expertise.  To hear other episodes with Josh, check out episodes 26 and 43 

Sean Reynolds of JLL's Chicago Data Center Practice Group joins the podcast to discuss trends and activity in the data center real estate world. Topics include: Chicago as a key data center market due to its history as a railroad hub. Hyperscalers are helping to push for sustainability through wind energy development. In 2021 The State of Illinois passed an important bill with tax incentives for the data center industry. Data centers contribute significantly to municipal finances through electricity sales tax generation. Elk Grove Village is a “main and main” location for data centers due to power and fiber access. Power supply issues on the east and west coasts are crimping new supply. Supply chain delays are leading to longer lead times on procuring equipment.

Episode 48 is live from the new home of Lion Electric Vehicles at Clarius Park Joliet. We are joined by Michael Connor from JLL and Clarius Partners' Eric Johnson to hear about JLL’s involvement with Building I and the development and leasing of the 906,517 sq. ft. manufacturing facility.   This location will become Lion Electric’s first manufacturing facility in the US and a showcase for consumers. Lion Electric was attracted to Joliet for its robust logistics industry, labor force and the Illinois Climate Change Policy which aligns well with the electric vehicle market. When the project started, the team knew it would have a big economic impact due to the amount of power and parking needed to support the plant. There was a tremendous amount of effort to take a speculative shell building and adapt it for producing zero emission vehicles.  Hear how the team pivoted in the middle of construction to add in over 100,000 square feet of office space, cranes, paint booths and reconfigured loading docks in our lates

Episode 47 is live from ATMI Precast in Aurora, IL.  We are joined by Mike Walsh, VP of Business Development to learn about the process of making precast and see their finished product.  Hear more about the facility, their capabilities and trends in industrial construction.   Show Notes  ATMI produces precast for industrial buildings, data centers, parking structures, and more.   Hear about the how raw steel and rebar is custom fabricated to customer specifications.   The facility is on 22 acres and consists of two production buildings, two concrete batch plants and yard space to store product awaiting delivery.   Waubonsee Development is their sister-company that handles the erection on the jobsite.   ATMI serves the Midwest region from both Aurora and their newly expanded Indianapolis plants.   Discussion of building features for cold storage projects.   Will “tilt-up” construction become a new trend in the Chicago market?

Episode 46 is live visiting with the principals of Timber Hill Group: Founder Cary Goldman, partner Ryan Battistoni and Marty Siegel along with Robin Stolberg from JLL.  Topics include Background on JLL’s Industrial Service Facilities (ISF) Practice Group ISF is a niche area of transportation and logistics real estate. How JLL Research classifies the various industrial property subtypes. Learn about what is Managed Truck Parking Hear about Timber Hill's National Truck Parking platform Consideration for the electrification of truck fleets.

Tune in to hear why the Midwest industrial market's fundamentals are strong from land availability, rail access, and the ability to reach large portions of the east coast and central region's population base. The 2022 outlook covers insights and key trends impacting the Midwest industrial markets, including: A modern bulk overview Rising tenant demand Supply and demand across the region Outlook for the remainder of 2022 We are joined by Sam Stouffer, JLL Columbus research manager and lead author of the Midwest industrial report and Mike Cagna, JLL Indianapolis research manager.   Click to download the report  For additional listening, check out Episode 37, covering the 2021 Midwest Industrial Outlook and see how the market has changed over the last 12 months.

Episode 44 is live on location from71st Street in Bedford Park, Illinois home of CSX Transportation, known as the largest freight railroad in the Eastern U.S.   We are joined by Tom Livingston, the Head of State Government Relations and Community Affairs for CSX Transportation, who shares his insights and expertise on freight rail operations and shipping across the company's network. Show Notes 2:25 Tom portrayed Chief Iliniwek during his time at University of Illinois   5:25 Some of the notable ports that CSX services are, New York/ New Jersey, Baltimore, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah and JaxPort in addition to various inland ports.   11:05 Companies are focusing on the greening of their supply chains and moving freight on rail helps with ESG considerations.   12:55 Chicago is the Super Bowl for railroads   15:10 Bedford Park handles a lot of intermodal volume for the parcel shipping companies.   16:05 JLL was involved in the sale of a building on 71st Street which CSX acquired for future expansion of

Chad, George, and Brian Carroll join Josh Grozdin, Director of Business Development and Marketing for Elk Grove Village on the Strictly Business Podcast for Episode 53.  The Village's industrial vacancy rate at the end of 2021 was a historic low of 2.36%.  Find out why the demand for industrial space is thriving and hear about some notable transactions and trends.  Check out other episodes of Strictly Business including the JLL's teams last appearance on Episode 35 

Episode 42, is live on location at 3711 S Ashland Avenue Chicago, the new home of Aviation Institute of Maintenance, a technical school offering offer hands-on training for full service aircraft repair and maintenance. We are joined by Ben Fish from Logistics Property Company to tell us about the building and development process. Brad Wood from JLL’s Project and Development Services team tours us through the classrooms, hangar, and welding room. Then hear from Gavin Stainthorpe and Michael Conway on the site selection process, the tenant’s unique requirements, and why they selected the location in the City of Chicago. 1:35- Introduction to the Chicago Stockyards Industrial Park. 3:10- Walk through the corridors of the facility to view the classrooms, computer lab, student resource library, and faculty offices. 6:50- Step into the hangar to see the various aircraft. 9:37- All the columns have compressed air drops and coil reels for pneumatic tools like you would see in a service garage 13:00- View the weldin

Episode 41 features Dean Brody to discuss truck terminals and their role in movement of goods.  This episode introduces a recent whitepaper: Driving Forward which describes the background of truck terminals, how they fit into the supply chain as well as building characteristics, development considerations, and investment trends.    Click to download the report. 

Reggie Greenwood, Executive Director of the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation  and Scott Duerkop join the podcast to discuss the unique logistics and transportation assets and industrial site opportunities in the region.  Show Notes 2:20 Defining the geography of “Chicago Southland” which encompasses South Chicago, South Cook County, Eastern Will County and the I-57 and IL-394 Corridors.   4:00 The recent sale of the Balmoral Horse Racing Track in Crete could be a potential industrial development site.   7:25 The CN Intermodal terminal in Harvey is a major transportation hub in the region.   8:50: Scannell Properties has acquired 140 acres in Tinley Park for the development of up to three buildings.   11:25 Governors State University has a Supply Chain Innovation Center to help with job training and recruitment.   16:00  The construction of a South Suburban Cargo Airport could lead to the development of more industrial facilities.   23:30 Two large E-commerce fulfillment centers have opened i

In this episode, Chad and George join David Bodamer, host of Wealth Management Real Estate's Common Area Podcast to discuss some areas within the industrial world you may not think about such as cold storage, truck terminals and transloading and how they are currently changing and adapting to the technology-based world we live in today As e-commerce continues to change the way we live our day-to-day lives, there have been some major impacts in the world of transportation and distribution that are reshaping the industrial and logistics market. Chad and George discuss: How the pandemic has affected distribution and increased demand for more advanced and adaptable delivery systems throughout the world What transloading is and why it works  New delivery developments such as 15-minute grocery delivery services in New York City Emerging niche markets and how they are creating competition for major big-box distributors  

This supplemental podcast episode is a recording of our April 2021 Chicago Industrial Market Perspective Client Webcast.  Hear from a panel of JLL professionals on various segments of the market including land pricing, urban logistics, construction, and capital markets and more.      0:50 Introduction from John Picchiotti, Chicago Industrial Market Lead.   2:07 George Cutro, Director of Research, provides a recap of first quarter statistics and positive trends including falling vacancies and leasing volume growing across all size segments.   9:01 Kris Bjorson, Head of Retail /Ecommerce Distribution, discusses how customer service and transportation impact site selection decisions.    14:13 Keith Stauber, Managing Director, runs through recent big box market activity and explains how the supply and demand imbalance has drastically shifted in the I-55, I-80 and I-57 submarkets.   22:02 Conor Mullady, Senior Vice President, covers land pricing ranges across the Tri-State market and how entitlements and utility a

This is Episode 37 recapping the JLL 2021 Midwest Industrial Outlook Report which provides insight into 14 markets across the nation’s heartland region. The report focuses solely on modern bulk distribution product with an emphasis on the top tenants, institutional developers, and investors. The report also includes findings from a survey from the field of JLL professionals in each market. Questions were focused on the state of each market’s institutional product both currently under construction and the pipeline for the next 12 months. 1:35:  Introduction of how JLL defines institutional grade modern bulk or “Big Box” warehouse product 4:03: Modern bulk product accounted for 70% of the overall net absorption since 2016 across the Midwest 7:40:  Tenants are signing leases with phased in occupancy with plans to grow into a large space. 10:40: Survey respondents are expecting a 15% increase in tenant demand in 2021 11:22:  The interactive dashboards in the report allow us to understand trends and see which inve

Matt Goode, Principal of Venture One Real Estate joins the Podcast to discuss the firm's value-add acquisitions platform and ground up development business.  The company is active across nearly every submarket in Chicago and recently branched out to the East Coast.  Also hear about Matt's personal background and a recap of several successful transactions locally with the JLL Chicago Industrial Team.     1:30: Matt reflects on the benefits of starting his career as a development analyst at a publicly traded REIT. 6:22: Venture One recently opened an office in New Jersey and is looking at acquiring property in that market as well as in New York City and Long Island. 8:11: The 20 distinct submarkets of Chicago don’t necessarily compete with each other. 12:25: When looking at acquisitions, we look past components of a building which somebody else may see as a detriment to the property. 14:40:  With the former WMS Building in Waukegan which had a lot of amenities, we were able to offer a heavy amount of office spa

Phillip Smailes, Director of Marketing for Progressive Rail Incorporated joins the podcast to talk about the Chicago Junction Railroad and the Chicago, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad.  These two short lines service the Centex Industrial Park in Elk Grove Village and the Bensenville Industrial Park.  Progressive Rail has a national reach operating 13 short lines in 8 states and locally services a diverse group of industries on their 20 miles of track and yards with the ability to interchange with other Class 1 railroads.     2:35:  Progressive Rail is heavily concentrated in the Midwest and got their start in Minnesota by taking over an abandoned rail line.   8:40: Short line railroads provide detailed local switching service which compliments precision scheduled railroading (PSR).   10:36: Mention of some of the various industrial customers served.   12:10: JLL’s introduction to PGR while working with 3W Plastics and reactivating rail service in their new Elk Grove Village facility.   17:35: Transloading off

Rick Steger, head of JLL’s industrial project and development services group, marks his first return to the podcast since Episode 3. In this installment, we discuss the state of the industrial construction market during COVID-19—including safety features clients are requesting in buildouts, and opportunities in e-commerce, manufacturing and medical/biotech. We also examine how a few trends have evolved since Rick discussed them back in 2017.   2:50: Before COVID-19 hit, U.S. construction was projected to be flat in 2020. 4:17: Project times have lengthened due to government shutdowns, productivity declines, labor shortages and delayed equipment/material deliveries during COVID-19. 7:26: Construction hit its bottom April 22, when 60% of U.S. projects were put on hold or canceled, but began bouncing back by May 20, with many projects back up and running early to mid-June. 11:48: The construction industry is predicted to be down 10-15% overall in 2020 vs. 2019 – not bad considering how much it’s grown over the