Venture One Real Estate bought three warehouses near O’Hare Airport in a foreclosure auction, boosting its roster of suburban industrial properties.
The Rosemont-based Private equity fund paid $2.65 million for a warehouse at 1300 Morse Avenue in Elk Grove Village, $2.45 million for a building at 7500 North Natchez Avenue in Niles and $575,000 for a single-dock complex at 1515 Louis Avenue in Elk Grove Village, according to Cook County property records.
All three properties were acquired through an online auction earlier this month, according to Venture One principal Matt Goode. The firm secured a $25 million acquisition line of credit from MB Financial Bank on the same day it assumed title of the buildings, county records show.
The pickups align with Venture One’s strategy of buying “functional, well-located infill with good tenants,” Goode said, adding that the O’Hare area “checks every box” for industrial property owners, including a concentrated employment base and proximity to expressways.
Venture One lists more than 80 industrial properties in its portfolio, mostly in the north and northwest suburbs. This month’s acquisitions give it six total properties in Elk Grove Village, with multiple buildings spread across other O’Hare area-suburbs like Bensenville, Wood Dale and Addison.
The company is also partnering with USAA Real Estate to build a 174,000-square-foot speculative warehouse in the city’s Little Village neighborhood.
Last month, the Venture One signed synthetic turf manufacturer Perfect Turf to a 28,000-square-foot lease at its Rolling Meadows facility.
Goode talked up the prospects for owners of small and medium-size warehouses during an industrial real estate event hosted by NAIOP late last year, where he said he’s “seeing the market get stronger the smaller you get.”
Chicago cemented its place among the most popular markets for industrial leasing last year. Demand for warehouse and distribution space is especially hot in the O’Hare submarket, where the industrial vacancy pushed below 5 percent last year.