Press Release

JLL Income Property Trust Acquires Suburban Chicago Distribution Center

January 13, 2022
Aerial photograph of a large distribution center in Chicago



JLL Income Property Trust, an institutionally managed daily NAV REIT (NASDAQ: ZIPTAX; ZIPTMX; ZIPIAX; ZIPIMX) with $5.9 billion in portfolio assets, today announced the acquisition of Elgin Distribution Center, a Class A, two-building industrial property totaling 407,000 square feet and located in the northwest Chicago suburb of Elgin, Illinois. The purchase price was approximately $47 million.

“The Elgin Distribution Center fits squarely within our industrial investment thesis as a well-located, newly constructed property with strong tenant profiles,” said Allan Swaringen, JLL Income Property Trust President and CEO. “The Elgin warehouse submarket stands out for its access to a robust labor pool and close proximity to Chicago, along with O’Hare International Airport, which we believe will drive long-term value for these properties. Industrial remains an overweight target for our portfolio given our belief that it will provide strong, long-term cashflow to our diverse portfolio. Our aggregate industrial allocation is now over $1.7 billion, or approximately 30 percent of our $5.9 billion portfolio, and includes 54 properties across 13 key markets.”

Recently constructed in 2020, the properties are built to state-of-the-art design specifications. The larger building, which totals over 326,000 square feet, is cross-docked with 33-foot clear heights. The smaller building, which totals more than 80,000 square feet is rear docked and has 29-foot clear heights and includes a front-office. The properties are 100 percent leased with a weighted average lease term of approximately 10 years.

According to LaSalle Research & Strategy, the Chicago metro is the country’s second largest industrial market, with 1.2 billion square feet of industrial space. Chicago’s central location, proximity to irreplaceable transportation infrastructure and access to a large population make it a critical hub for national distributors. Over the four quarters ending in Q1 2021, Chicago’s industrial market experienced 18.5 million square feet of net absorption and a steady decline in vacancy rates. Chicago also has the highest going-in yields of any gateway industrial market in the U.S. The Elgin Distribution center also benefits from access to a growing population and large labor pool, as well as excellent access to major transportation nodes including Interstate 90, Route 31, Randall Road and Route 47.