Opus and AEW Launching Another N. Aurora Spec

After a 604K spec next door was leased up and sold for a good price, the prospects for this 452K in N. Aurora look good.

CHICAGO—The Opus Group and AEW Capital Management have started construction on a 452,000-square-foot speculative industrial warehouse at 1100 Orchard Gateway Blvd. in suburban North Aurora. It’s the second big spec that Opus has recently launched in this corner of the I-88 submarket. The company finished the previous one, the immediately adjacent I-88 Gateway Logistics Center, in October 2014 and quickly leased all 604,565 square feet to a top distributor. But it was the sale of that building that perhaps most influenced the decision to launch another speculative project of this size.

American Realty Advisers acquired it in January, and Matt Kurucz, senior manager, real estate development, Opus Development Co., LLC, tells GlobeSt.com that the cap rate was just about 5%. “It was very profitable, so the company decided to finish building this one and get it out into the market.” And the big purchase sent a signal to other developers with well-located sites. “The institutional capital is there in a big way for most developers, and everyone has said, ‘let’s go.’”