It looks like the risk of launching Chicago’s largest speculative industrial development in more than a century is going to pay off.

First Logistics, an Illinois-based 3PL, will expand from its facility in suburban Alsip and immediately occupy 331K SF of Marina Crossings, a just-completed 633K SF facility at 2075 West 43rd St. on the South Side in the McKinley Park neighborhood.

Marina Crossings Owner LLC, a joint venture between MAT Limited Partnership and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, developed the spec project. It is the city's largest since builders broke ground on the Central Manufacturing District in 1905, and was driven by demand from the many companies that increasingly need to complete quick deliveries in the city.

“First Logistics chose the location based on its ability to service their contract with the local plant of a global manufacturer," Cushman & Wakefield Managing Director Larry Goldwasser said.

Along with colleagues Jason West, Colin Green, Matt Cowie and Michelle Maguire, Goldwasser represented the owners in securing the first tenant. Midwest Commercial Real Estate’s Larry Hanley represented First Logistics.

Leasing activity has been picking up on the city's South Side. In the third quarter, the submarket's vacancy rate decreased 35 basis points to 8.52%, the lowest rate recorded since 2001, according to Colliers International.

"We look forward to bringing the building to full occupancy in 2019,” Goldwasser said.