CHICAGO—Zurich Alternative Asset Management has just bought a new 345,000 square foot industrial facility at 2501 Galvin Dr. in suburban Elgin, for $29 million, its first real estate investment in the Chicago region. A joint venture partnership between Conor Commercial Real Estate, a member of The McShane Companies, and Globe Corp. developed the property, also known as Northwest Pointe, and recently got it to 100% occupancy. The lucrative conclusion to the project is expected to push even more developers to start building class A facilities in the nation's top markets.

“There is no question that this was a highly sought-after property,” NGKF capital markets executive managing director Kenneth Szady, tells GlobeSt.com. Szady and managing director Krysti Galvin represented all parties, Conor, Globe and Zurich, in the transaction. Essentially, any group with “big buckets of money,” including foreign investors, public REITs and other institutional buyers, was interested in one of the newest industrial buildings in the Chicago region.

In fact, he adds, not only did the property fetch a good price, it sold for a sub 5% yield. “This is probably one of the first sub-5% investments in the industrial sector here.” But as long as leasing activity remains strong enough to fill up the region's many new speculative developments, it probably won't be the last.