Colliers has recruited a veteran industrial broker known for making big deals in Chicago, the country's largest warehouse and distribution market and one where the vacancy rate has remained lower than average despite a slight drop in demand.
Colliers said it has hired Steve Ostrowski as a vice chair in its industrial group based in Rosemont, Illinois. Ostrowski spent nearly the past 14 years at rival JLL, where he most recently served as a managing director.
In his new role at Colliers, he will work with tenants, landlords and developers and handle site selection, acquisitions and dispositions, and lease negotiations, the firm said. He also will provide advisory and underwriting services, Colliers said.
Colliers’ South Central Division Leader Julie Northcutt-Dunn said Ostrowski's deep industry knowledge and collaborative approach will benefit the firm as it expands its presence in Chicagoland. The Chicago industrial market is the nation's largest with 1.4 billion square feet of space, according to CoStar data. The Dallas-Fort Worth market is second with 1.2 billion square feet of warehouse, distribution and logistics space.
The firm is increasing its industrial presence in the Chicago market as its vacancy is below historical levels despite a cool-down in activity from its 2021 and 2022 levels, according to CoStar data. "Tenant demand is resilient here as Chicago records fewer space givebacks than most major U.S. markets," CoStar said in a recent market report.
Moreover, developers have throttled the level of new supply, and that is helping keep its vacancy rate, currently 5.3%, lower than the nationwide rate, according to CoStar.
"Chicago's vacancy rate is tighter than the U.S. average by at least 100 basis points, a position it will likely maintain throughout 2024 as the volume of speculative development completions each quarter has already begun to decline significantly," CoStar said in the report. "In fact, only 1.1% of its industrial space inventory is under construction."
As a result, the report said, "vacancy will likely peak at or below the market's 20-year average and remain tighter than the national vacancy rate."
As for Ostrowski, he has done his share of large industrial deals in the market. He recently completed a 700,000-square-foot lease in Monee, Illinois, for ExxonMobil and a 300-acre land sale in Channahon, Illinois, on behalf of DuPont.
He also has represented national tenants including Whirlpool, P&G, Caterpillar and Mazda as well as local clients such as GSI Family Office and Berkot’s Super Foods.
A graduate of Northwestern University, where he was captain of the football team in 1993, Ostrowski is president-elect of the Chicago chapter of NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association.