In Chicagoland’s sprawling industrial market, NW Indiana is an up-and-coming submarket, after years of languishing because of manufacturing decline. NAI Hiffman VP Chris Gray, an industrial specialist says the overall economic recovery is helping drive demand for space in NW Indiana, but he tells us it’s more than that. “The state of Indiana has had a balanced budget for several years, and the overall economic health of the state is superior to its neighbors, particularly Illinois,” Chris says. (Oh those two states: always trash talking.) “Last year Indiana became a right-to-work state, which has increased its attractiveness to manufacturing companies.”

That’s not all: Indiana also maintains significant cost advantagesrelative to Illinois on workman’s compensation, unemployment insurance, and property taxes, Chris adds. There’s still a heavy concentration of steel and petrochemical industries in NW Indiana, including Arcelor Mittal, US Steel, and BP Amoco, but distribution companies are also locating in the region, encouraged by that lower cost of doing business. Pictured: 1575 Louis Sullivan Dr at Ameriplex at the Port in Portage, Ind., which Chris reps. It has the largest block of space currently on the market, 200k SF.

Source: Real Estate Bisnow (Chi)