I-55 Corridor Growing Even Tighter

CHICAGO—RJW Transport just signed the largest new lease in the I-55 corridor this year. The 416,504 square foot deal at 50 Southcreek Pkwy. in Romeoville caps what has been a monumental year for the logistics and warehouse provider. In 2018 alone, RJW has taken nearly 1.2 million square feet of new space in the I-55 corridor further and helped reinforce Chicago’s competitive strength as the nation’s second largest industrial market.

“This is the third major lease for RJW this year, and it just goes to show there’s tremendous momentum in the market right now,” says Dominic Carbonari, JLL executive vice president who represented RJW in the lease. “The Chicago industrial market is hotter than ever, fueled by the demand of logistics providers like RJW who are continuing to invest and see Chicago as a vital market for the industrial supply chain.”

In just three years, developers have completed 25 million square feet of new space in the I-55 corridor alone. According to JLL Research, overall occupier demand across the Chicago market remains healthy with over 15 million square feet of positive net absorption posted year to date. Despite an influx of new speculative supply, the overall market vacancy rate remains healthy, hovering in the mid six percent range.

RJW represents three of the 10 leases over 100,000 square feet that have been signed in the I-55 corridor this year. In January, RJW signed its first lease of the year for 356,621 square feet at 2601 International Pkwy. in Woodridge. In April, they took 405,844 square feet at 1000 Veterans Pkwy. in Bolingbrook, making it the largest lease of the second quarter.

“This has most certainly been a significant year for RJW, and we are confident that the explosive growth we are experiencing will continue into next year,” says Kevin Williamson, RJW’s chief executive officer “JLL has been a key partner in helping deliver space that is critical to our growth, and they have been supporting our needs for more space almost quarterly.”