Thor Equities cashed out of an industrial spec development in suburban Chicago.
The New York-based developer sold its 109,000-square-foot industrial building to Irvine, California-based LBA Logistics for $21.4 million in a deal that was recorded on Friday, public records show.
Thor bought an older industrial building at 1211 Tower Road in Schaumburg for $3.9 million in 2022 and redeveloped it into the spec building with a $12.6 million loan from Wintrust Bank, according to Cook County records.
Though the firm’s total development costs are unclear, the $21.4 million likely translated into a solid return for Thor Equities at a time when spec development is slowing down.
Representatives of Thor Equities and LBA Logistics did not respond to requests for comment.
During the pandemic, demand for industrial development in the Chicago-area exploded. In the last quarter of 2022 alone, nearly 40 million square feet of industrial space was under construction in the Chicago area, a year-end report from Savills found.
Now, the sector is showing signs of stabilizing from pandemic-era highs. During the last quarter of 2025, about 13 million square feet of industrial properties was under construction in the Chicago area. Much of that activity was driven by a boost in data center development, according to Savills.
The slowdown has helped new projects find buyers as they hit the market.
The highest industrial dollar sale in Cook County in 2025 was NorthPoint Development’s purchase of a $270 million industrial portfolio in the Northwest suburbs to NorthPoint Development, a TRD data analysis found.
Buyer demand for Thor Equities’ building at 1211 Tower Road may be linked to its proximity to both O’Hare International Airport and downtown Chicago. The building is 30 miles northwest of downtown and 15 miles northwest of O’Hare.
Proximity to O’Hare has proven to be an advantage for both industrial players and office landlords. Even as the pandemic cratered demand for office, properties near the airport fared better than those in the farther flung suburbs, market data shows.