NKF Brokers 916 KSF Chicago Industrial Lease

By Nicholas Ziegler, News Editor

Following the trend of positive industrial fundamentals in the Chicagoland area, supply-chain firm M. Block & Sons has signed a 915,645-square-foot lease at 18801 Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park, Ill. Newmark Knight Frank Epic represented the tenant in the lease transaction.

According to CBRE Group Inc., the surrounding Tinley Park Corporate Center will provide up to 1.2 million square feet of office, industrial and distribution space along the I-80 corridor. The building signed by M. Block & Sons features 314 parking spaces, 211 dock-high doors, four drive-in doors and 32-foot ceiling heights.

Information on asking rent was not disclosed.

The area continues to be a popular one for industrial leases, according to research by Cushman & Wakefield Inc. According the a fourth-quarter 2011 report by the services firm, the Interstate 80 corridor alone experienced a total of 5.5 million square feet in lease signings in 2011, with total Chicagoland industrial signings reaching 30.3 million square feet, a 10.8 percent increase over the previous year.

“The industrial forecast looks positive heading into 2012,” the firm noted. “Stronger consumer confidence and greater product demand should spur business growth … current market fundamentals point towards solid tenant demand, falling vacancies and increased rents in the months to come.”

Just two weeks ago, CBRE Group Inc. purchased a 1.4 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center along the same I-80 corridor that the firm described as leased to an “investment-grade” tenant that represented “an excellent core investment opportunity for CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust.”

M. Block & Sons is slated to take occupancy in mid-June.