NW Suburban Industrial Spaces Filling Up

There seems to bee strong demand for northwest suburban industrial properties, such as this one at 305-325 Corporate Dr. in Elgin, IL.

CHICAGO—DCT Industrial Trust Inc. bought the DCT Business Center Elgin in late 2013 as a long-term investment, and it looks like it’s paying off. The new owners spent more than $2 million updating the six-building complex in suburban Elgin, brought Darwin Realty on board to handle the leasing, and Darwin just secured two new leases totaling 291,000 square feet, bringing the occupancy to about 88%.

“We expect to be around 95% within the first half of this year,” Noel S. Liston, a principal of Elmhurst, IL-based Darwin, tells GlobeSt.com. Occupancy stood at just 59% when it was acquired. “We are also getting the rental rates we expected when we helped DCT underwrite the project.”