Chicago's industrial subleasing landscape: Trends, hotspots and dominant industries

Chart shows industrial subleasing activity by submarket and by industry throughout the Chicagoland area
  • YTD 2023 sublet availability across the Chicago market has increased nearly 40% since Q4 2022 with a total of 3.7 msf currently vacant or 47% of all available sublet space.
  • A total of 5.4 msf of sublet space has been leased throughout Chicago since Q1 2022, with the top 5 submarkets accounting for 76% of all sublet leasing.  Among these submarkets, the south I-55 corridor has emerged as a hotspot for subleasing activity, accounting for 2.2 msf or 42% of all sublet leases. South I-55 has remained one of the most active submarkets within Chicago with low vacancy, strong tenant demand and convenient access to the major north-south interstate of I-55. 
  • Logistics, distribution and parcel delivery companies have dominated subleasing activity throughout the market, representing 48% of the 5.4 msf of sublet leases. NFI , a national 3PL company signed the largest sublease in March of 2022 taking an additional 997,802 sf within South I-55. The top 5 industries of sublet leasing activity accounted for 84% of all subleases. 

December 13, 2023

Get market intel