Bernard Capital grabs 124K sf in Skokie

A flex industrial and retail property in Skokie just traded for $11.5 million, indicating that demand for industrial space is still strong in the Chicago area.

Bernard Capital Investment paid around $92 per square foot for the 124,000-square-foot building at 3450 West Touhy Avenue from CenterPoint Properties Trust, in a deal recently announced by JLL Capital Markets, the Chicago Business Journal reported. 

The property, built in 1976, was renovated in 2013 and had a 100 percent occupancy at the time of the sale. Retailer and gym XSportFitness is the anchor tenant, and industrial tenants include Skokie Cash & Carry and Howard Packaging. The site has three interior docks and four drive-in doors, the outlet said.

The deal comes at a time when the industrial market is tight. The pandemic fueled an increase of online shopping, which contributed to a record-low vacancy rate among warehouse properties at the end of last year. However, the surge in demand has led to low inventory levels.

With the Chicago area’s office sector is struggling due to the rise of  remote work, also set in motion by the pandemic, some developers are aiming to redevelop old office campuses into industrial projects. 

In October, Dermody Properties purchased the 232-acre former All State campus in Glenview for $232 million, with plans to convert the site into five warehouses, totalling over 1.2 million square feet.  

Bridge Industrial wants to tear down Baxter International’s headquarters in Deerfield to build a logistics park spanning 101 acres. The developer’s proposal has received pushback from Deerfield residents, though, worried that the site would bring unwanted truck traffic, noise and pollution to the suburb. 

—Quinn Donoghue 

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