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Midwest Market Reports

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Key Industrial Industry Sectors in St. Louis Region Attract Investment

by Kristin Harlow

By Mary Lamie, Bi-State Development, St. Louis Regional Freightway The St. Louis regional industrial market continues to be a magnet for investment, with significant capital investment dollars flowing into four target industry sectors that remain key drivers of the bi-state economy. These sectors include metals, advanced manufacturing, food and AgTech, and chemicals. They are legacy industry sectors poised for continued innovation, job creation and economic diversification, in part due to the region’s exceptional logistics and transportation assets and established talent pipelines. Metals  The St. Louis metropolitan area ranks second in the United States for mineral and ore exports. With more than $2.9 billion exported in 2022, the figures prove the market is well established for metals manufacturing, processing and shipping. The metals market is expected to grow with nearly 17,000 metals industry workers already in the region, and with copper supplier Wieland making a $500 million investment at its East Alton, Illinois, facility — a move that will retain 800 jobs in the region. “Wieland is committed to a sustainable future and is taking significant steps to modernize its East Alton facility,” says Greg Keown, president of Wieland Rolled Products North America. “This effort solidifies our ability to supply the …

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IndustrialMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsOhio

Northeast Ohio Industrial Market Sparks Investor, Developer Interest

by Kristin Harlow

By George Pofok, Cushman & Wakefield | CRESCO Real Estate The Northeast Ohio market has consistently been a stable industrial hub, and over the last couple years, has been attracting the interest of investors and developers from other regions. Spanning approximately 527 million square feet, this market stretches from Cleveland down I-77 to include Akron-Canton.  In the second quarter of 2024, the overall vacancy rate decreased to 2.8 percent, driven by 1.1 million square feet of positive direct absorption, a strong recovery from the negative absorption in the first quarter. Over the past few years, the vacancy rate has remained between 2.4 and 3 percent.  Leasing activity kicked off the year robustly, with 4 million square feet of leases in the first quarter. However, it normalized in the second quarter, with 1.6 million square feet leased, which was slightly below the usual pace. The market is expected to remain stagnant due to limited inventory and a lack of new speculative construction starts, which continue to hinder demand from local and regional tenants seeking to expand and backfill spaces.  Leasing deals are trending longer, between five to 10 years, with annual rental rate increases averaging 3 to 4 percent. Meanwhile, the …

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Market ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsOhio

Unlocking Cleveland: Trends, Opportunities in the Often-Miscalculated Market

by Kristin Harlow

By Donald Lydon, Avison Young Cleveland offers a mix of hurdles and opportunities across its industrial, office and multifamily sectors. With limited speculative construction, landlords are poised to leverage rental increases. Meanwhile, developers eyeing Cleveland should anticipate longer lead times for new projects, navigating through municipal regulations and land availability challenges.  This nuanced landscape presents openings for savvy investors, developers and occupiers looking to capitalize on Cleveland’s evolving real estate dynamics.  Resilient and mature, yet relatively untapped industrial market presents opportunities to national developers. Cleveland’s industrial sector is in a strong position relative to similar Midwest markets. With vacancy rates comfortably low at around 4 percent, rents are edging upward as developers struggle to find capital outlay nationally and spec development has all but stopped in most markets. The current landscape features a mix of large distribution hubs and older, yet prime, manufacturing facilities in key locations across Cleveland and Akron. Many facilities leased to third-party logistics companies seem to be stockpiling goods where others sit nearly empty, reflecting evolving needs in logistics and storage amid ongoing supply chain adjustments. This dynamic is leading to diverse demands: from small to mid-sized multi-tenant flex spaces (10,000 to 30,000 square feet) to …

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IowaMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Quad Cities Region Expands Beyond its Manufacturing Roots

by Kristin Harlow

By John G. Ruhl, NAI Ruhl Commercial Co. People are always surprised when they learn how many communities are part of the Quad Cities since they think it stops with just four towns. For the record, there are 58. The bi-state region includes Moline, East Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, as the main core cities. The Quad Cities is the largest metro area between St. Louis and Minneapolis on the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River was the main reason for this region’s initial growth historically since it was an important distribution channel. John Deere moved his base of operation to Moline, Illinois, in 1848 to utilize the river’s power for manufacturing and transportation of goods. The world headquarters of Deere & Co. are still based here, along with many of its factories and distribution centers, making it the region’s largest employer. Several other Fortune 500 companies have a major presence in this region, including Arconic, 3M, Nestle-Purina and Kraft Heinz.   The Quad Cities has always been led by smaller manufacturers, suppliers and service providers supporting our major employers and the regional economy. More than 1,200 manufacturers from all industry sectors are based in the …

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IowaMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Cedar Rapids Experiences Soaring Growth, Momentum With New Development

by Kristin Harlow

By Scott Olson, Skogman Commercial As the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa celebrates its 175th year in 2024, the growth momentum and success continues despite a derecho, pandemic and high interest rates that have impacted the state and our nation. The city continues to reach new heights, becoming one of the few communities in the nation to have all of its major city service departments obtaining accreditations from leading industry-specific agencies. Currently, the departments certified include: • Parks and Recreation Department • Fire Department • Police Department • Public Works • Public Library • Building Service Department Code     • Enforcement Division Public Works passed accreditation with a 100 percent score with 11 of its policies selected to be used as models for other cities. The Code Enforcement Division had the highest score to date and is only the ninth city to have this certification. But, just as impressive is the city’s most recent national rankings: • No. 23 city with the lowest cost of living in America (niche.com, 2024) • No. 41 best place to live in America (livabililty, 2024) • No. 45 happiest city in America (wallethub, 2024) • No. 13 best city to buy a house …

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Market ReportsMichiganMidwestMidwest Market ReportsOffice

Back to Business? Detroit Office Market Shows Signs of a Burgeoning Recovery

by Kristin Harlow

By Andy Gutman, Farbman Group Until recently, the post-pandemic headlines and trend lines have been clear: the office market is struggling. Lower volumes and businesses closely evaluating their operational models and space needs in the wake of a COVID-altered world have prompted concerned conversations about what’s next for an evolving office sector.  Here’s the good news, however: the Detroit office landscape reflects a changing narrative around not only the commercial climate, but the entire city of Detroit.  To be clear, the office resurgence in Detroit has been modest, and is clearly still in its early stages. Whether you are entering a recession or starting a recovery, there is always a transitional period where sector activity is starting to change before the shift becomes impossible to deny.  Motown momentum While the understandable indecision and uncertainty of the last few years has led to some stagnation in the office space, many of the COVID-era lease expirations seem to have resolved and activity has been gradually, but steadily, picking up in the last six to 12 months. Decisions are being made and lease volume is trending up — but deals and leases are moving slower, are taking longer to get done and we …

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IndustrialMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsOhio

Examine the Cincinnati Industrial Market with Perspective, Patience in Mind

by Kristin Harlow

By Jeff Bender, Thomas McCormick and Seattle Stein, Cushman & Wakefield We’ve been doing this for a while. Every cycle with gang-busters demand and absorption comes to an end, as does every downturn. So, with the Cincinnati industrial market, we find ourselves in the doldrums since mid-2023, and we may not fully turn the corner until next year.  Perspective and context matter, though. We’re coming off record absorption and demand at the end of 2020 and through 2022, when we also closed the year with an unsustainable 1.7 percent vacancy rate. Before the entire world paused for COVID in early and mid-2020, we had a record year in 2019 as well.  While vacancy hovers around 6 percent at mid-year, that is basically the Cincinnati industrial market’s historical average. Four consecutive quarters of negative net absorption certainly defines “doldrums,” but that must be weighed against the previous 48 consecutive quarters of positive net absorption through mid-2023. We’ve also seen a slight increase in asking rental rates, up to $6.25 per square foot, despite negative absorption. So, despite a lackluster past 12 months, we have positive momentum, and that’s bolstered by many of the factors that have always made Cincinnati one of …

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Market ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsOfficeOhio

Cincinnati Office Amenities: Then Versus Now

by Kristin Harlow

By Todd Pease, Michelle Klingenberg and Britney Aviles, JLL Since the Cincinnati office landscape upended during the pandemic, area businesses, building owners and broader leaders sought opportunities to help entice employees to return to the office, reclaim the area’s vibrancy and spur economic growth. These stakeholders realized that to entice employees back into the office, they would need to make it worth the commute.  Throughout this evolution, one thing continues to drive tenants into office buildings: high-quality amenities. Amenity demands have changed over the last few years and there are new ways for building owners to create spaces that engage employees. Amenities of the past Up until 2020, the standard “five days in the office” model meant that office buildings strived to accommodate as many professionals as possible while maintaining efficiency. The space planner was the lead consultant on planning offices, and they would work with tenants to design spaces in a way that most efficiently accounted for their company headcount.  Regarding office amenities, tenants most valued high parking ratios, conference facilities, gyms and locker rooms, and onsite food options. It was all about productivity and it didn’t matter if productivity took place in a gray cubical under florescent lighting.  …

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Market ReportsMichiganMidwestMidwest Market ReportsRetail

Detroit Retail Market: What’s Old Is New as Users Backfill Spaces

by Kristin Harlow

Metro Detroit’s retail market is characterized by strong tenant demand and investors’ eagerness to acquire and backfill vacant properties. In the downtown area, the revitalization efforts and adaptive reuse developments that started well before the pandemic continue. In fact, this year marked Detroit’s 100th commercial demolition, accelerated by $95 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding. Over the past five years, the City of Detroit has invested $1 billion in preserving or developing more than 4,600 affordable housing units. The hard work is paying off. Between July 2022 and July 2023, Detroit experienced population growth for the first time since 1957, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  A major highlight this year was the reopening of the long-abandoned train station, Michigan Central Station. Ford Motor Co. redeveloped the property in the city’s Corktown neighborhood into a 30-acre technology and cultural hub. Until Aug. 31, the first floor will be open for “Summer at The Station,” where visitors can take self-guided tours and enjoy food and beverages outside. This fall, the first commercial spaces will begin opening to the public.  Meanwhile, developer Bedrock topped off construction of its Hudson’s project, the redevelopment of the former J.L. Hudson’s department store site. General …

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IllinoisIndustrialMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Windy City’s Industrial Sector May Face Market Headwinds in 2024

by Kristin Harlow

By Chris Mergenthaler, DarwinPW Realty/CORFAC International The Windy City, as Chicago is often dubbed, has long been a vital hub of commerce and industry. Boasting 19 intermodal facilities operated by six Class I railroads, a top 15 worldwide cargo airport, and sitting at the confluence of seven interstate highways that allow goods to reach 25 to 30 percent of the U.S. population within one day’s drive, Chicago’s central location makes it a key logistics and transportation hub.  The robust labor force of over 4.7 million nonfarm employees, according to a first-quarter 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, coupled with Chicago’s location and infrastructure, lay the foundation for a fundamentally strong industrial market.  While the long-term outlook of the Chicago industrial market remains positive, the Windy City is facing some headwinds as the market progresses through 2024. Uncertainty, whether positive or negative, has been a common theme of the Chicago industrial market since early 2023  as the market reacts to changing macroeconomic and geopolitical factors.  Uncertainty in the global supply chain, trade relations with other countries, as well as one of the longest freight market recessions in recent history, have led to an increase in direct and sublet space on …

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