C&W Brokers 361,000-Sq.-Ft. Industrial Lease for Swap.com in Bolingbrook, Ill.

Bolingbrook, Ill., August 25, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Swap.com, the country’s fastest-growing online consignment retailer, has signed a 361,000-square-foot lease at 850 Veteran’s Parkway in Bolingbrook, announced Cushman & Wakefield. The long-term transaction marks the second major expansion for the company since its founding in 2013, accommodating its progress from a start-up operation of 15 employees to a staff of 100 handling an inventory of more than 340,000 items.

Swap.com offers a selection of pre-owned baby, kid's, maternity and women's apparel and accessories. Cushman & Wakefield’s Jason West, an industrial specialist based in the commercial real estate services Rosemont, Ill., office, assisted Swap.com in securing the real estate for its initial lease as well as this new expansion. 

"This lease represents positive net absorption of approximately 300,000 square feet within I-55 industrial submarket and will push down the vacancy rate by nearly 40 basis points. It is an excellent illustration of how the growth of e-commerce is positively impacting the regional industrial market."

Jason West, Cushman & Wakefield

“Less than two years ago we strategically selected a building owned by Prologis in Bolingbrook, based on Swap.com’s current needs and projected growth,” West said. “The decision to partner with Prologis, which has the largest industrial portfolio in the Chicago metro area, turned out to be a great choice when our client’s growth accelerated beyond expectation. Prologis recently acquired 850 Veteran’s Parkway, and we structured a transaction that allowed Swap.com to relocate prior to the expiration of its initial lease. The company is now well positioned for continued progress.” 

Jim Estus of Colliers International represented Prologis in the 850 Veteran’s Parkway transaction. Located on the north side of I-55 between IL Route 53 and Weber Road, the asset provides 30-foot clear ceilings, ESFR sprinklers, heavy power, 37 exterior loading docks, four drive-in doors, and parking for 224 cars and 321 trailers. 

“The parking at this facility is a unique feature that is unmatched within the submarket for buildings of similar size,” West said. “The trailer parking can be converted to car parking, which can accommodate more than 800 cars on site. This was an important consideration for Swap.com, which expects its workforce to evolve to several hundred employees over the next few years.”

According to West, expanding companies like Swap.com are economic drivers for area housing, retail and commercial sectors. “This lease represents positive net absorption of approximately 300,000 square feet within the I-55 industrial submarket and will push down the vacancy rate by nearly 40 basis points,” he said. “It is an excellent illustration of how the growth of e-commerce is impacting the regional industrial market.” At mid-year, the vacancy rate in the 79 million-square-foot I-55 submarket rested at 11.2 percent, according to Cushman & Wakefield Research.  

The Swap.com lease is the fifth e-commerce lease completed by West’s team this year, with others in the works. “The consumer shift toward online shopping versus traditional bricks-and-mortar retail is fueling significant activity involving warehouse and distribution space across the country,” West noted. “This industry trend is expected to continue as more online retailers, wholesalers, and fulfilment companies emerge to satisfy consumer demand.” 

Cushman & Wakefield’s industrial brokerage platform provides global resources and local expertise for tenant and landlord representation, disposition and acquisition services, transaction management, and industrial consulting including labor and demographic analysis. In 2014 globally, this group completed more than 8,200 industrial lease and sale transactions, including Capital Markets transactions, totaling nearly 337 million square feet with an aggregate value in excess of $16.8 billion.​