Big-box industrial facilities—those of at least 200,000 square feet—fared well in the first half of this year in the Heartland with low vacancies, strong rent growth and new construction completed, according to CBRE. 

Almost three-quarters or 74% of big-box facilities in the Midwest fall into the 200,000-to-499,999-square-foot range. Such spaces posted the highest average taking rents to date this year, averaging $6.49 NNN, which represented an 18.6% premium above facilities greater than 500,000 square feet.

This category of facility also did well when it came to leasing activity. Although leasing declined from record levels of 2021, it did well last year with more than 131 million square feet in the Midwest. In the period from 2021 to this year's first half, leasing activity totaled 370 million square feet. Facilities of 200,000 to 499,000 square feet constituted 46% of the activity. Those that were bigger posted less: 26% from bigger facilities of 500,000 to 749,999 square feet and slightly more than that or 28% from the largest facilities with more than 750,000 square feet.