Light industrial portfolio in greater Chicago trades

CHICAGO, Feb. 16, 2022 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has closed the sale of and arranged acquisition financing for a fully leased, five-building light industrial portfolio totaling 265,000 square feet in the Chicago market. 

JLL represented the seller, Green Door Capital Investments, LLC. Clear Height Properties acquired the assets and engaged JLL to secure the five-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan with Bank Leumi USA.

The portfolio comprises strategically located properties in Schaumburg, Bloomingdale, Aurora, Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg, Illinois. The assets are geographically diverse within the Chicago MSA and are proximate to a highly educated and skilled labor force and critical infrastructure that includes the largest railroad hub in the U.S., two major airports and 10 key interstate freeways that allow the tenants to reach 29 percent of industry in North America within one travel day by truck.

With 7.5 years of weighted average lease term, Honda, Novaspect, BERNINA of America and Abrasive Form call the portfolio home, and three of the five buildings serve as the North American headquarters for the tenant. The properties, which were constructed between 1982 and 2009, feature clear heights ranging from 20 to 24 feet, 17 dock-high doors, eight drive-in doors and varied office finish. 

The Chicago Industrial market continued to set records in 2021 and ended the year with a low vacancy rate of 3.5 percent. JLL Research found that direct asking rents soared to $5.65 per square foot at the end of the fourth quarter, and, with leasing activity continuing to pick up and completions down by approximately 3 million square feet, demand could outpace supply.

The JLL Capital Markets Investment Sales and Advisory team representing the seller included Senior Director Kurt Sarbaugh and Senior Managing Director John Huguenard.

“Chicago experienced a record 46 million square feet of industrial net absorption last year,” Sarbaugh said. “Investors are leveraging this unprecedented increase in user demand to make really strategic buy/sell decisions.”

The JLL Capital Markets Debt Placement team representing the borrower was led by Managing Director Christopher Carroll and Director Lucas Borges.

“We are thankful for the opportunity to help Clear Height Properties grow their portfolio of industrial and office properties,” Carroll added. “We admire their ability to acquire strategic real estate and create real value with their high-touch operations.”

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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