Developers Delivered Record Big Box Product in 2022 to Meet Demand
More big box buildings were completed during 2022 than any other time in the Chicago market’s history. Developers delivered 48 modern buildings 200,000 square feet or larger during the year totaling 25.5 million square feet. 35 of these deliveries totaling 17.2 million square feet were built on “spec” with no tenant commitments prior to construction. This was the greatest amount of speculative big box space to be completed in a calendar year, 46 percent greater than the previous record of 11.8 million square feet delivered in 2019. Despite strong leasing, this surge in development pushed the big box vacancy rate up during the final three quarters of 2022, increasing by 158 basis points from an all-time low of 2.61 percent to 4.19 percent.
