Chicago’s warehouse market varies dramatically by suburb. A space in Wheeling costs 10% more than the same square footage in Downers Grove—but puts you 10 minutes closer to O’Hare. DuPage County property taxes run half what you’d pay in Cook County, but Cook County offers industrial incentives that can level the playing field.
Choosing the right location depends on your business: where your customers are, whether O’Hare proximity matters, and how property taxes affect your bottom line.
Chicago Suburban Warehouse Market Overview
Metro-wide industrial vacancy: 4.7% as of Q4 2025
Small-bay vacancy (under 100,000 SF): Under 3%—among the tightest segments nationally
Key insight: Large warehouse vacancy is softening at 7-8%. Small, flexible space remains extremely scarce everywhere in Chicagoland.
Chicago’s position as America’s freight crossroads—handling 25% of all U.S. rail traffic and home to O’Hare’s $300 billion in annual cargo value—creates sustained demand that keeps small-bay space tight regardless of submarket.
Downers Grove & Western Suburbs (DuPage County)
- Includes: Downers Grove, Lisle, Naperville, Westmont, Woodridge, Carol Stream
- Small-bay vacancy: 3.2-3.6%
- Rental rates: $9-11/SF base for small-bay (above metro average)
Why Businesses Choose Downers Grove
Property tax advantage: DuPage County effective commercial rates run 1.8-2.5% compared to 4-6% in suburban Cook County. For a $1 million industrial property, that’s $18,000-25,000/year in DuPage vs. $40,000-60,000 in Cook. Tenants in NNN leases see this directly in lower pass-through costs.
Highway access: I-355 (Veterans Memorial Tollway), I-88 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway), and I-55 provide tri-directional access. From Downers Grove:
- Downtown Chicago: 27-36 minutes
- O’Hare Airport: 25-30 minutes via I-88 to I-294
- Midway Airport: 25-30 minutes via I-55
- Joliet intermodal terminals: 35-40 minutes
Corporate corridor prestige: The I-88 corridor hosts Fortune 500 headquarters (Dover Corporation, Univar Solutions) and regional offices for Microsoft, MetLife, and SAP. The educated workforce (53% of DuPage residents hold bachelor’s degrees) attracts professional services and technology companies.
Metra access: Downers Grove has three Metra stations on the BNSF line—convenient if employees commute from the city.
Who Does Downers Grove Work Best For?
- Businesses serving the entire metro — Central positioning means reasonable drive times in all directions
- Cost-conscious operations — Lower property taxes translate to lower NNN charges
- Corporate distribution — Prestige location for client-facing operations
- Businesses with city-commuting employees — Metra access matters
Downers Grove Trade-offs
- Further from O’Hare than northern suburbs (25-30 min vs. 15-20 min)
- I-88 tolls add up for businesses with frequent highway travel
- Limited manufacturing ecosystem compared to Wheeling
WareSpace Downers Grove
WareSpace Downers Grove at 5200 Thatcher Road sits directly on I-355.
Pricing: $800/month (Small, fits 10+ pallets), $1,550/month (Medium, 20+ pallets), $2,075/month (Large, 30+ pallets), $3,000/month (X-Large, 40+ pallets)
Drive times: Downtown Chicago 30 minutes, O’Hare 28 minutes, Lisle Metra station 1.3 miles
Wheeling & Northern Suburbs (Cook County)
- Includes: Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, Prospect Heights, Northbrook
- Small-bay vacancy: Under 4%
- Rental rates: $10-12/SF base for small-bay
Why Businesses Choose Wheeling
O’Hare proximity: Wheeling to O’Hare runs 20-27 minutes—about 10 minutes closer than Downers Grove. For businesses with air freight needs or frequent executive travel, that proximity adds up.
Manufacturing ecosystem: Wheeling ranks as Illinois’ #5 largest manufacturing concentration with nearly 14 million SF of industrial space and under 4% vacancy. Major manufacturers include Reynolds Consumer Products, Handi-Foil, Valspar, and Hidden Valley Manufacturing.
Diverse workforce: The area’s diverse population (44.7% foreign-born) provides a manufacturing-ready workforce living within 5 miles of facilities—an advantage unavailable in more distant suburbs.
Highway access: I-294 (Tri-State Tollway) and IL-53 provide north-south mobility. The I-294/I-90/I-94 interchange connects to Wisconsin markets. From Wheeling:
- O’Hare Airport: 15-20 minutes
- Downtown Chicago: 35-40 minutes
- Schaumburg: 10-15 minutes
- Northbrook: 10-15 minutes
Class 6B Tax Incentive: Cook County’s 6B program reduces commercial/industrial assessment from 25% to 10% for the first 10 years—potentially cutting property taxes by 60%. Wheeling actively promotes this: “Using this 6B tax incentive, we have managed to backfill over one million square feet of empty space in Wheeling in recent years.”
Who Wheeling Works Best For
- Air freight-dependent operations — O’Hare proximity is irreplaceable
- Manufacturing and production — Existing ecosystem, workforce availability
- Businesses serving northern suburbs — Schaumburg, Northbrook, Lake County access
- Operations qualifying for 6B incentive — Tax savings offset Cook County’s higher base rates
Wheeling Trade-offs
- Higher property taxes (unless 6B incentive applies)
- Further from downtown Chicago (35-40 min vs. 27-36 min from Downers Grove)
- I-294 tolls are expensive for frequent travelers
- Less “corporate campus” feel than I-88 corridor
WareSpace Wheeling
WareSpace Wheeling at 301 West Hintz Road sits in an established industrial park with I-294 and IL-53 access.
Pricing: $875/month (Small, fits 10+ pallets), $1,600/month (Medium, 20+ pallets), $3,000/month (Large, 30+ pallets), $4,000/month (X-Large, 40+ pallets)
Drive times: O’Hare 20 minutes, Downtown Chicago 35 minutes, Mt. Prospect Metra 5.1 miles
Other Chicago Industrial Submarkets
Northwest Suburbs (Elk Grove Village, Bensenville, Wood Dale)
- Best for: O’Hare-adjacent operations, distribution requiring immediate airport access
- What it offers: Elk Grove Village claims to be the nation’s largest industrial park. Bensenville and Wood Dale sit adjacent to O’Hare with some of the shortest drive times to cargo facilities.
- Trade-offs: Extremely tight vacancy. Limited small-bay inventory—most space runs 10,000+ SF. Premium pricing.
Far West Suburbs (Carol Stream, Glendale Heights, West Chicago)
- Best for: Cost-conscious operations willing to trade location for savings
- What it offers: Central Kane/DuPage corridor shows 4.2% vacancy with rents around $8.50/SF—below the metro average. Good I-88 access.
- Trade-offs: Further from everything. Longer drive times to Chicago, O’Hare, and customers. Limited small-bay co-warehousing options.
South/Southwest Suburbs (Joliet, Romeoville, Elwood)
- Best for: Large-scale logistics, intermodal operations
- What it offers: BNSF Logistics Park Chicago in Elwood is one of the nation’s largest inland ports. Massive warehouse inventory, competitive rents ($5.50-7.00/SF for big-box).
- Trade-offs: Almost no small-bay inventory. Vacancy in big-box has climbed to 8-10% due to oversupply. Long drive times to Chicago proper.
Downers Grove vs. Wheeling: Head-to-Head Comparison
How to Choose Your Chicago Warehouse Location
Choose Downers Grove if:
- Your customers and jobs spread across the entire Chicago metro
- Lower operating costs (property taxes) matter more than O’Hare proximity
- You want the corporate/professional I-88 corridor environment
- Your employees commute from the city via Metra
- You’re serving the southwestern suburbs (Naperville, Bolingbrook, Plainfield)
Choose Wheeling if:
- Air freight or O’Hare access is critical to your operation
- You’re in manufacturing or serve manufacturing clients
- You qualify for Cook County’s 6B industrial tax incentive
- Your customers cluster in the northern suburbs (Schaumburg, Northbrook, Lake County)
- You need access to a manufacturing-ready workforce
Questions to Ask Before Deciding
- Where are my customers? Plot your top 20 accounts on a map. Which location minimizes total drive time?
- Does O’Hare matter? If you ship air freight regularly or executives travel frequently, Wheeling’s 10-minute advantage adds up.
- Do I qualify for 6B? If your use qualifies for Cook County’s industrial tax incentive, Wheeling’s cost disadvantage largely disappears.
- Where do my employees live? If team members commute from the city, Downers Grove’s Metra access helps. If they live in the northern suburbs, Wheeling is closer.
- What image do I want to project? I-88 corridor has more corporate prestige. Wheeling has more industrial character. Neither is better—but they serve different client perceptions.
Chicago Warehouse Neighborhood FAQs
Which Chicago suburb has the cheapest warehouse space?
Far west suburbs (West Chicago, Geneva) and south suburbs (Joliet, Romeoville) offer the lowest rents, but almost no small-bay inventory exists there. For spaces under 2,000 SF, Downers Grove and Wheeling offer the most practical options at competitive rates.
Is Wheeling or Downers Grove closer to O’Hare?
Wheeling. About 15-20 minutes vs. 25-30 minutes from Downers Grove. That 10-minute difference matters if you’re making multiple O’Hare trips weekly.
How do Cook County vs. DuPage County property taxes compare?
DuPage County’s effective commercial rates run roughly half those of suburban Cook County (1.8-2.5% vs. 4-6%). However, Cook County’s Class 6B Industrial Tax Incentive can reduce assessments by 60% for qualifying uses—potentially bringing costs in line with DuPage.
Why is small-bay warehouse space so hard to find in Chicago?
Developers built large-format warehouses (100,000+ SF) during the pandemic boom. Very little small-bay construction occurred. Large-box vacancy has risen to 7-8% while small-bay stays under 3%. The supply/demand mismatch is structural—no one is building significant new small-bay inventory.
Can I expand easily if I outgrow my Chicago warehouse space?
Traditional leases lock you in for the term. Co-warehousing like WareSpace allows scaling within the same facility—move from a Small to Medium or Large unit with 30-60 days’ notice.
WareSpace Chicago offers small warehouse space at two locations: Downers Grove (5200 Thatcher Road, starting at $800/month) and Wheeling (301 West Hintz Road, starting at $875/month). Both locations offer all-inclusive pricing, climate control, loading docks, and flexible 6-month leases. Book a tour at either location to see what fits your business.
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