The Chicago area's industrial market is one of the nation'slargest with a property base estimated to be over 900 million sf.Distribution and manufacturing uses claim the largest shares ofthis total. The Chicago metropolitan area remains one of thefastest growing regions in the country. The area's central locationand its efficient transportation routes add to its attractiveness,according to the Studley Report. Year-to-date, about 42,400 newjobs have been added to the Chicago market. A tight labor marketpotentially could slow future growth.

At this point, increased production equals increased demand forwarehouse space. There was a time when buildings and leasestotaling 200,000 sf to 300,000 sf were considered major deals. Now,leases of 300,000 sf and larger have become more commonplace.

The CB Richard Ellis report states that the vacancy rate inthird quarter 2000 increased to 7.5% from 7%. New constructionstarts for the year so far have topped 9.6 million sf. Projectsbegun in 2000, primarily high-cube warehousing, include 6.2 millionsf of speculative space and 3.4 million sf ofbuild-to-suit.According to the Grubb & Ellis Industrial MarketTrends report, Chicago's industrial market sprawled into the farsouth and west suburbs after the Elgin-O'Hare (northwest) areabecame too crowded. Low taxes and government incentives (TIFs)sparked growth in the I-55 corridor. Suburbs such as Bolingbrookand Romeoville have grown rapidly.