It's no secret industrial space is the hottest sector of commercial real estate in the Twin Cities, particularly in the Northwest quadrant of the metro area, and Jones Lang LaSalle's chart of the week illustrates this deluge of construction.
Unlike the office market, Twin Cities developers are willing to take a risk by building industrial space on a speculative basis -- which means without securing a tenant first.
Not surprising, the area north and west of downtown Minneapolis is experiencing the greatest swell of activity, according to the chart, with 227,000 square feet of spec industrial completed last year and more than 1.8 million square feet currently under construction. The industrial boom is particularly along the I-94 and nearby highways.
