O’Hare Industrial Sale Closes

Feb. 1, 2023 — As noted in the Daily Herald and the IL Real Estate Journal, Brown Commercial Group Vice President of Sales Mason Hezner negotiated an O’Hare industrial sale and a lease in Schaumburg, totaling nearly 37,000 square feet. Hezner represented the seller, U.S. Wire & Cable Products LLC, in selling a 27,038-square-foot industrial building at 350 Evergreen St. in Bensenville, IL, in the O’Hare submarket. The buyer, Armadio Cabinets, Inc. is expanding their space near their existing location in Bensenville. The sales price was $2,125,000.

“Industrial space is still in short supply in the O’Hare submarket, making this a great time for sellers to leverage their holdings,” Hezner said. “We continue to see companies looking to expand their footprints, particularly with industrial properties that offer access to the airport and surrounding transportation corridors,” Hezner said.

Ross Lehrman of Transwestern represented the buyer.

O’Hare Industrial Sale and Lease Overview

According to CoStar research, the O’Hare submarket remains a coveted place for industrial transactions. This is due to its central location and the access it offers to the airport’s logistics and cargo operations. The airport is ranked as the busiest airport in North America for cargo traffic. Freight traffic in the submarket increased by over 9% from Q4 of 2021 to Q4 of 2022, despite supply chain bottlenecks, labor shortages and inflationary pressures.

There was 690,000 square feet of net absorption in the O’Hare industrial submarket over the past year. Construction activity picked up during 2022 after a lackluster supply growth over the previous two years. The submarket, which has a super low 3.1% vacancy rate, has approximately 1.3 million square feet of industrial space under construction.

Industrial sales totaled approximately $481 million over the past 12 months—a sharp drop from the previous year’s high of $998 million. As 2023 unfolds, this number should drop more as higher interest rates have increased the cost of capital and pushed many investors to the sidelines.

Industrial Transactions in Northwest Suburbs

Hezner also represented the landlord, HMC CHP 1201 Wiley LLC, in leasing a 9,920-square-foot office space at 1201 Wiley Rd., Suite 150, in Schaumburg. The tenant, MBL International Corporation, is moving from Des Plaines, IL and wanted a larger space for its office and laboratory uses.

Nick Panarese of Van Vlissingen and Co. represented the tenant.