Denver investment firm makes play in white-hot Chicago industrial market

Pauls Corporation acquired a portfolio of industrial properties in the Chicago suburbs, making it the latest investor looking to get a piece of the exploding market.

The Denver-based firm paid a total of $41.2 million to buy properties in Alsip, Melrose Park and Des Plaines from Transwestern Investment Group, according to Cook County records.

Pauls is a capital management and development firm with residential, industrial, office and land projects in its portfolio, according to its website. The properties bought from Transwestern are its first in the Chicago area.

The firm paid $16.4 million for the property at 5300 Proviso Drive in Melrose Park, $7.4 million for 301-363 North 3rd Street in Des Plaines and $17.4 million for 5100 West 123rd Street in Alsip.

Transwestern picked up the properties in July 2016 as part of a larger portfolio deal, REBusiness Online reported at the time.

Pauls is one among many investors looking to get a piece of the Chicago industrial market. A recent CBRE report showed investors are bidding up the prices of properties in the area, signaling continued demand for the asset class even as warehouse construction reaches breakneck levels.

CBRE’s Ryan Bain told The Real Deal that logistics properties are “the darling of the institutional investor world,”

One reason is the region’s industrial vacancy rate is near record lows, despite all the new inventory, thanks to the e-commerce industry.

Representatives of Pauls did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.