CHICAGO—As reported in GlobeSt.com, the Opus Group has launched the development of two speculative industrial buildings in suburban Romeoville, one with 133,800-square-feet and the other with 121,200-square-feet. And Matt Kurucz, real estate manager for Opus Development Company, LLC, tells GlobeSt.com that the state of the I-55 submarket made the decision to build easy.

“There really are no other standalone buildings available in that size range,” he says. Molto Properties did recently start an 189,700-square-foot spec project, also in Romeoville, but “I've heard that's already leased. It might not be signed yet, but I heard it's spoken for.” Other recently completed spec projects in the neighborhood include IDI's mammoth bulk warehouse/distribution building at 700 S. Weber Rd. in Bolingbrook, but at 602,600-square-feet it will probably appeal to a different set of users.

Kurucz says that institutional investors pretty much have the I-55 submarket locked up and “there is nowhere for small businesses to purchase their own facilities.” Opus officials could have used the 22-acre Romeoville site, purchased from First American Properties, to maximize the square-footage of this project, but instead decided on two smaller facilities with separate truck courts that would appeal to user-buyers. However, he adds, they would also be more than happy to lease these buildings once they finish them next year, or sell both to a big buyer like a pension fund.