HSA Commercial’s Bob Smietana (left) at CRE Forum Chicago.

Last week, HSA Commercial’s CEO Bob Smietana and HSA PrimeCare president John Wilson joined other real estate leaders in a discussion about the state of the market at the CRE Forum Chicago hosted by Marcus & Millichap at the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center.

On a panel entitled “Now That’s What I Call Logistics: The Future of Chicago’s Industrial Development” moderated by Crain’s Chicago Business’ Ryan Ori, Bob Smietana talked about HSA Commercial’s recently-completed spec development projects at Park 355 in Woodridge, Ill. and Delany Commerce Center in Waukegan, Ill. in the context of the larger industrial development trend occurring now. “We expect strong industrial development will continue as tenant demand is still very high, and there has been very little new product added to the market,” Smietana said.

With regard to new industrial acquisitions and investment, Smietana; who was joined on the panel by Matt Goode of Venture One Real Estate, Scott McKibben of Brennan Investment Group, and Anthony Pricco with Bridge Development, said that Chicago’s collar markets are drawing capital and performing very well when compared to other national submarkets. Smietana also added that HSA is finding that institutional investors are now aggressively pursuing spec development JV opportunities now that pricing on Class-A building acquisitions has been steadily increasing.

HSA PrimeCare president John Wilson (center) at CRE Forum Chicago.

John Wilson of HSA PrimeCare shared the stage with Dan Cowell of Irgens and Todd Lillibridge with Lillibridge Healthcare Services on a breakout session entitled “Paging Dr. Development: Is there a Healthcare Boom?”. Paul Kopecki of MedProperties Group helped guide the discussion in which John highlighted the shift in care delivery toward ambulatory facilities similar to the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital that HSA PrimeCare recently developed. “The delivery of care model dictates the real estate side of healthcare,” Wilson said. “With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, consolidation in the healthcare marketplace is spurring on value-driven outpatient facility development that is expected to continue for the next several years.”

With the growth in healthcare development, many new real estate service providers are seemingly rushing to get a share of the business, but John points out the expertise that is required for such projects. “Health systems want their real estate service providers to truly understand their business and their world,” Wilson added. With over 20 years of experience in healthcare real estate consulting, John Wilson noted that HSA PrimeCare has come to appreciate the very specific needs of their clients.