KTR Capital Partners is wrapping up raising its third fund, which will have $1B of equity. VP of direct investments Ryan Stoller (fresh off a two-week honeymoon in South Africa) has been charged with investing a large part of that in the Chicago market. So we thought this active acquirer would be a great fit for Bisnow's third annual Chicago Industrial Real Estate Summit on Tuesday, May 21. KTR owns 55M SF of industrial nationally--11M SF in the Chicago area (with a recent focus on Class-A distribution facilities), Ryan tells us. He says rising rental rates and falling vacancies have created market momentum, giving landlords more bargaining power when it comes to negotiating with tenants.

There are plenty of opportunities thanks to scarcity of product and shrinking cap rates. Institutional capital is finally warming up to the idea of Class-B product, evidenced by Blackstone's big buy of a 15-building, 2.1M SF portfolio of local warehouses from Ares Commercial Real Estate, Ryan notes. KTR's recent local acquisitions: a 450k SF Class-A building at 2407 W North Ave in Melrose Park (above); a 101k SF distribution facility at 9480 W 55th St in McCook; and a 108k SF facility at 595 Territorial Dr in Bolingbrook. Next week they'll close on a 75k SF Class-A facility in Carol Stream.