Spec development is back in the industrial market, a sign of growing confidence in a gunning and running sector. So we've assembled experts to discuss the trend at Bisnow's3rd Annual ChicagoIndustrial Real Estate Summit on Tuesday, May 21.

The McShane Cos CEO Jim McShane says their industrial work varies from year to year (peaking at 100% of projects in the early '80s), but has always remainedat least a third. Look at today's build-to-suits to see the market's recovery, as well as the resurgence of manufacturing plus growth in food processing and distribution, Jim says. (There are literally tons of bananas and they all have to go somewhere.) Empty blocks of space are leasing up fast and industrial tenants are searching for a higher grade of property: taller ceilings, better lighting, and more energy efficiency. The real recovery clincher: spec has picked up with a handful of projects already on the docket.

McShane is working on its first spec project in the Midwest region since 2007: Northwest Pointe (above), a 343k SF building within Elgin's Northwest Corporate Park, 2501 Galvin Rd. It was the right parcel as one of the last of its size (20 acres), located near a four-way interchange on I-90 at Randall Road, he tells us. When Jim isn't traveling up and down our city's industrial arteries, you might find him in Haiti or Bangladesh (snapped above last year in Ethiopia) serving as a member of the board of directors for Concern Worldwide US, a humanitarian organization. From water projects to planting apple trees to HIV/AIDS prevention, "A little effort and assistance goes a long way to helping people immensely," Jim says. "It's very rewarding."