More than 325 of you joined us in Rosemont for our fourth annual Chicago Industrial Summit. We caught up with a couple panelists before the event. Cushman & Wakefield executive director Jim Carpenter (snapped with his wife) agrees with the latest catchphrase, “Industrial is the new apartments.” Good fundamentals, rising rents, and plenty of equity and debt are fueling the robust market, he tells us. Jim’s team is about to launch a 400k SF, two-building portfolio in O’Hare on behalf of Invesco, with leases done in ’10 and ’11 at rents 20% to 30% below market. It will be interesting to see how people underwrite the situation, likely a bellwether for the market, he says. Fun fact: When Jim’s not in the office, he’s a rock-and-roll drummer and dreams of touring with the Foo Fighters.

NAI Hiffman COO of brokerage services John Picchiotti tells us development is ramping up thanks to increased absorption and investor interest, but there’s still not enough product to satisfy demand. Industrial development has come in below its 14.5M SF/year 20-year average since ’08, but this year John expects we may exceed it. The challenge is always making sure the new product is consistent with what the market wants in terms of correct parking ratios, clear heights, trailer storage, location, etc. A glutton for punishment, John is starting to train for his second three-day bike ride in the Colorado mountains (60 miles, 3,000 feet of vertical a day) to benefit the Children’s Hospital of Denver.