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Midwest Market Reports

IndustrialMarket ReportsMichiganMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Return of the Spec: Metro Detroit’s Next Industrial Chapter

by Kristin Harlow

By Ryan Brittain, Colliers Speculative construction has always carried a certain boldness in industrial real estate. Building without a tenant can either signal visionary thinking or a bold bet on future demand.  In metro Detroit, that confidence was on full display during the post-COVID boom. To meet the surge in tenant demand, highly respected industrial developers raced to deliver modern distribution space across the region. At the height, preleasing was not always necessary but often occurred. Developers pushed forward on new Class A warehouses, confident that tenant requirements would catch up and, for a time, they did. Yet here we are in 2026, and speculative development is not an idea of the past. It is returning, this time with more discipline. This is not another Resurgit cineribus Detroit comeback story, but rather a thoughtful recalibration. The “Return of the Spec” reflects a market that has matured and learned, not one that has overheated. To understand it today, it helps to revisit how we arrived. As a wave of newly completed speculative projects delivered (at one point, the market saw 12 million square feet under construction), availability expanded. Shortly thereafter, the automotive industry hit an uncertain patch in late 2023. Vacancy …

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Market ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMissouriOffice

Prime Office Space in St. Louis: Scarcity and Strategy

by Kristin Harlow

By Joshua Allen and David Kelpe, JLL One year ago, CBRE Research forecasted a shortage of prime office space in Heartland Real Estate Business. That prediction has proven accurate. Since the beginning of 2025, demand for top-tier office space has continued to drive leasing activity across the region. This persistent appetite for quality has pushed prime Class A availability to record lows, creating a competitive environment for tenants and landlords alike. The St. Louis office market encompasses approximately 53 million square feet of competitive space. Yet, a closer look reveals a critical challenge: 73 percent of this inventory was constructed before the 1990s. This aging supply base means that only 2.6 million square feet qualifies as truly “prime” — the newest, most desirable assets located in walkable urban areas with abundant amenities. These buildings represent the gold standard for tenants seeking modern design, energy efficiency and proximity to vibrant neighborhoods. Currently, prime Class A availability sits at a mere 5.5 percent, a stark contrast to the 25.2 percent average for non-prime Class A assets. This gap reflects a clear and ongoing preference among tenants for buildings that combine high-quality construction with strategic location. In short, companies are willing to pay …

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Data CentersIndustrialMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMissouri

Why Data Centers Are Emerging as a Defining Opportunity for the St. Louis Region

by Kristin Harlow

By David Steinbach, JLL As artificial intelligence (AI) acceleration, cloud expansion and high-performance computing reshape the digital economy, cities across the U.S. are reevaluating whether they can meaningfully compete for data center investment. St. Louis is increasingly part of that national conversation — and the reasons are structural, not speculative. With competitive power pricing, repurposable industrial infrastructure, developable land and a strengthening policy framework, the region is positioned to capture the next wave of large-scale digital infrastructure. This moment represents more than a real estate opportunity. It’s an inflection point that could redefine the region’s industrial future if public and private stakeholders act in alignment. Cost, infrastructure profile Data center site selection begins with power and connectivity, and St. Louis offers meaningful advantages on both. Missouri’s industrial electricity rates continue to trend below the national average, with the state at 7.69 cents per kilowatt-hour compared with the U.S. industrial average of 8.65 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to the latest EIA data.  This is a significant differentiator for large-scale campuses with substantial, long-duration energy needs. The region’s legacy industrial and former generation sites also come with high capacity transmission infrastructure that can be repurposed, reducing both development timelines and the cost …

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KansasMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMissouriMultifamily

Multifamily Is Needed for All Income Levels in Kansas City

by Kristin Harlow

By Doug Stockman, Helix Architecture + Design Straddling two states, Kansas City is one of the country’s most distinctive real estate markets. Since 1992, our firm has designed workplace, cultural, higher education and multifamily projects of all types in the city, with specialized expertise in adaptive reuse. We see multifamily as the most active segment in 2026.  Compared with other states, Missouri’s support for new housing projects is about average. Kansas is near the bottom, because the state lacks the revenue to incentivize housing. Inventory on the Kansas side is also less, with most multifamily housing located outside the city. Looking ahead, low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) incentives will ideally accelerate Kansas City’s biggest market demand — affordable housing. The Kansas City Affordable Housing Set-Aside Ordinance presents some obstacles. To receive city subsidies, multifamily developments must have 12 or more units, 20 percent of which need to be affordable for households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). Alternately, developers can pay $100,000 into the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.  Further, developers must navigate a complex process of zoning approvals and community engagement meetings that culminates with a city council hearing. If approved, developers on the Missouri …

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Market ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMissouriMixed-Use

Kansas City Leads By Example: How to Balance Growth and Heritage in Legacy Neighborhoods

by Kristin Harlow

By Graham Smith, Multistudio A national shift is underway, and it starts with how cities listen. Across the country, communities and development teams are rethinking how reinvestment happens in legacy neighborhoods shaped by deep cultural identity but burdened by decades of underinvestment. These districts often hold irreplaceable history, yet for years they were sidelined by capital markets that prioritized scale, speed and uniformity over context and continuity. Historically, redevelopment in these areas followed a familiar pattern: projects designed first and explained later. Too often, that sequence displaced cultural institutions, local businesses and social networks that gave neighborhoods their meaning. Today, rising expectations around equitable development and renewed interest in urban cores are forcing a different calculus. Community engagement is no longer a step at the end of a project. It is a strategic input that shapes outcomes, reduces risk and strengthens long-term value. Intentional reinvestment Kansas City offers a timely example of how intentional process can align with market opportunity. After years of downtown population growth, expanded transit infrastructure and rising global visibility ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, long deferred reinvestment became feasible. Local leaders recognized that this momentum created an opportunity to reinvest in the historic 18th …

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IndianaIndustrialMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Modern Facilities Boost Growth of Indianapolis Industrial Market

by Kristin Harlow

By Jeremy Woods and Gwen Rodenberger, CBRE Indianapolis industrial leasing activity in January may have started as cold as the winter temperatures, but activity has only gotten hotter, even as fall wanes into winter. Indiana at one point called itself the Crossroads of America, and the moniker holds true today. Indianapolis is strategically located in the center of the state, with four major interstates running through it. The city’s businesses also benefit because of the second-largest FedEx hub at its airport. As a result, businesses can easily ship to most of the continental U.S. within three days, minimizing outbound shipping costs.  In January, occupiers requiring 1 million square feet of distribution space in Indianapolis would have six first-generation shells (equivalent of 104 football fields) to choose from. If you could live with a bit less space, roughly 900,000 to 975,000 square feet, another three options could be added to the tour (adding an additional 47 football fields). Fast forward just three quarters to today, and five of the nine “mega-bulk” warehouses, as they are aptly named, are 100 percent occupied. Even the most seasoned experts would not have predicted the speed at which these spaces would be absorbed. In these …

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IndustrialMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsWisconsin

Milwaukee Industrial Market: Steady Demand, New Opportunities

by Kristin Harlow

By David Hodge and Tom Nickols, NAI Pfefferle While the national headlines often focus on trends such as rising vacancies and cooling rent growth, Milwaukee and its surrounding metros are telling a different story. Here resilience defines the market, and in some cases, opportunities are emerging due to our strategic location, balanced development and supportive business climate. Rate cuts change landscape The Federal Reserve’s recent rate cuts have altered the investment landscape. For the first time in years, capital markets are starting to unlock. Lower borrowing costs are already sparking new conversations with investors who had been sitting and waiting on the sidelines. This adjustment matters. Refinancing options are improving for property owners, development projects are resurfacing after being shelved for high financing costs and capital is beginning to flow again.  For occupiers, rate cuts also open doors. Lower borrowing costs for developers encourage new construction and tailored build-to-suit options. This ultimately expands the range of available facilities and results in a healthier environment where tenants can negotiate from a position of choice rather than constraint. While many national markets remain hampered by an oversupply of speculative space, Milwaukee’s pipeline positions it for long-term strength compared to its peers. Local …

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Market ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsOfficeWisconsin

Milwaukee Office Market Proves That Resilience Sparks Reinvention

by Kristin Harlow

By Matt Hunter, Hunter Real Estate Milwaukee’s office market, like many others across the country, is in flux. Rising costs, shifting tenant demands and looming debt maturities are all testing the market’s strength. But out of that pressure comes reinvention, and Milwaukee is proving it’s up for the challenge. High-quality, well-located, amenity-rich office buildings are more important than ever. They’re essential to attracting and retaining top talent. Office buildings don’t just serve the tenants that occupy them, they grow the tax base, support local businesses, drive housing demand and help build a more vibrant and economically resilient city. One of the most defining features of Milwaukee’s current office market is what’s not happening: there’s virtually no new construction. With high interest rates, continually increasing construction costs and economic uncertainty, ground-up office development has largely stalled. This has created a limited supply of modern, Class A office space, just as tenants are placing greater emphasis on quality. That supply-demand imbalance is driving increased competition for top-tier buildings and putting upward pressure on rents in this high-end segment. Tenants want less space but better-quality space, and they’re willing to pay a premium for it. This is a significant opportunity for landlords of …

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IllinoisMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsRetail

Chicago Retail Shines in Neighborhoods, Suburbs

by Abby Cox

While the health of the retail market along the Magnificent Mile continues to recover incrementally with a rebound in foot traffic following a prolonged downturn, Chicago’s neighborhoods and suburbs are bustling with leasing activity. In fact, limited retail supply in the suburbs and throughout most of the city’s neighborhoods is one of the biggest challenges facing the market, according to Michael Flinchbaugh, an associate director with Chicago-based Bradford Allen. He says the dynamic has pushed up rents, leading to more national retailers entering corridors that have historically been occupied by local stores. “Groups that are not as well capitalized are struggling to find affordable space for lease,” says Flinchbaugh. The Loop, on the other hand, is sitting at a vacancy rate around 30 percent, according to Flinchbaugh. He says the hope is that the number of office-to-residential conversions slated to occur in the next two to three years will bring retailers back to the submarket as it becomes more of a live-work community. The Loop is located south of the Chicago River, while the Magnificent Mile is situated on the city’s Near North Side. Long known for its high-end shops, hotels and restaurants, the one-mile section of Michigan Avenue referred …

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IowaMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMinnesotaMissouriOfficeOhioWisconsin

Midwest Office Markets Face Mounting Pressure

by Kristin Harlow

By David Goldfisher, The Henley Group Secondary and tertiary office markets across the Midwest, including Chicago, Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and St. Louis, are facing mounting pressure. While each city has its own challenges, a common theme is clear — vacancies remain high and liquidity is thin. Tenant shuffling One of the defining dynamics today is tenant reshuffling rather than net growth. As leases expire, employers frequently move from one building to another, seeking modernized space and stronger amenities. Renovating in place is disruptive and costly, while relocating allows businesses to upgrade with minimal operational downtime. This “musical chairs” effect highlights a deeper structural issue. There are only so many large anchor tenants in Midwest cities and few new entrants are seeking major blocks of space. There is more repositioning for existing tenants than attracting new ones. Flight to quality Landlords and developers are competing to deliver amenities that encourage office attendance and support talent retention. Modernized lobbies, tenant lounges and flexible collaboration areas have become standard expectations. Hines’ upgrades at Chicago’s 333 West Wacker Drive and 601W Cos.’ reinvestment in the Old Post Office demonstrate the scale of investment required. But not all landlords can compete. With …

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