IDI Logistics pre-leases 350K sf warehouse in suburban Chicago

Industrial developer IDI Logistics leased out a 350,000-square-foot warehouse under construction in suburban Chicago, adding to evidence that demand for logistics and distribution centers in Chicago is only growing.

Wholesale beverage distributor Republic National Distributing Company pre-leased a Class A industrial building at 1301 Abbott Road in Romeoville, located 20 miles from Chicago.
The building will be RNDC’s first distribution facility in the Chicagoland area.

“The facility’s size and premier location in the north I-55 submarket was ideal for RNDC’s operations,” said Scott Gibbel, Chicago market officer for IDI.

Chicago’s industrial market is off to a strong start with about 28.5 million square feet of big box warehouses under construction as of the final quarter last year, the most in at least 25 years. Rents rose 17.3 percent in the last three months of 2021 to a record of $5.90 per square foot, according to Savills. Logistics firms signed leases for 50.3 million square feet of industrial space last year, a 7.7 percent increase from the previous year.

The development is one of three projects IDI plans to complete in the Chicago market within the next six months. IDI’s website shows a 178,850-square-foot warehouse at 3700 South Morgan Street and a 100,463-square-foot industrial building at 3500 Wolf Road in Franklin Park are under construction.

IDI sold a 454,000-square-foot facility in suburban Antioch as part of a $195 million, four-building portfolio sale last year. Since 1989, the company has developed more than 100 business parks and 750 warehouses totaling over 200 million square feet across North America.

RNDC, run by three-family owned companies, operates in the District of Columbia and 37 states across the country. The company aims to enter the New York market this year.