Multi-use industrial product is a new favorite among industrial investors. A new report from JLL delves into the trend, noting that location and limited supply has made these properties an ideal investment opportunity.

The JLL report defines multi-use industrial as a multi-tenant industrial property ranging in size from 20,000 to 100,000 square feet with a wide ranging of uses, from distribution and warehouse to shallow/small bay, flex industrial, research and development and even high-office finish flex. These properties were typically built on the fringe of urban communities, but with urban expansion, many are now "engulfed," as the report describes, in population centers. This has made them a perfect asset for supply chain networks, according to the report.

Location isn't the only benefit. Multi-use industrial product is in limited supply. New industrial construction has focused on state-of-the-art industrial product targeting e-commerce users. Multi-use industrial, on the other hand, has seen little new construction activity. As a result, multi-use industrial makes up only 15% of the total industrial inventory in the US. By comparison, single-tenant properties make up 62% of total inventory and multi-tenant properties account for more than 22% of total inventory.