Caroline Bryan on Warehouse Leasing in Chicago and Milwaukee
Meet Caroline Bryan, an assistant vice president on Link Logistics' Leasing team. Based in Chicago, Caroline manages warehouse and distribution center leasing in two Midwest industrial hubs, bringing her cross-market experience to every deal. Read on to learn how she helps support customers across Link Logistics’ industrial real estate portfolio in Chicago and Milwaukee.
How long have you been with Link Logistics and what does your role in industrial leasing involve?
Caroline: I've worked at Link Logistics for over four and a half years and have had the opportunity to work across several markets during that time. I started out sitting in Chicago covering Minneapolis, then relocated to Austin for about three years following the PS Business Parks acquisition. I then returned to the Chicago office about a year ago to manage assets in both Chicago and Milwaukee. Relocating within the company has been a great experience because it’s given me the opportunity to learn about different markets, brokerage communities and portfolios. I’ve handled leasing for 2,000-square-foot units and 200,000-square-foot units. These variations have allowed me to develop my asset management skills across a wide range of product.
Day-to-day, I'm focused on proposal and lease negotiations for both new deals and renewals. I also collaborate closely with our Property Management and Construction teams to coordinate tenant move-ins, move-outs, tenant improvement projects, vacant space preparation, and other building modifications. Another significant aspect of my role in leasing and asset management is being a local market expert. When leadership needs boots-on-the-ground intel on a submarket or a building, the asset management team is expected to provide that information to support decision making.
What makes Chicago and Milwaukee well-suited for warehouse and distribution operations?
Caroline: Chicago is an attractive industrial real estate market in large part because it’s a central U.S. location with exceptional multimodal transportation infrastructure. It's the only city in the country served by all six Class I railroads in North America, making it a natural hub for freight movement, logistics, and supply chain operations. Chicago also has two major east-west transcontinental highways, plus north-south connections, so the trucking and last-mile delivery infrastructure is outstanding. Add in the population density, concentration of corporate headquarters and sheer size of the industrial leasing market, and you have a lot of natural demand drivers for warehouse and distribution space. Businesses also have real flexibility in Chicago. The market stretches from southeast Wisconsin to northwest Indiana, so tenants can find the right location for their specific supply chain needs.
Milwaukee is considered a secondary market, but it has strong historical drivers in food production and manufacturing, supported by abundant natural resources like water and significant power grid capacity that enables large-scale manufacturing uses. What's exciting right now is the surge in data center development in the region. Microsoft recently announced a $30+ billion investment to build a 15-building data center campus in the area. This trend is attracting tech-oriented tenants and creating a growing labor pool of educated workers, which is driving new industrial demand in Milwaukee from major companies.
What do you find most rewarding about working in industrial leasing?
Caroline: My favorite part of the job is visiting tenants across our portfolio. During these site visits, we get exposure to many industries we would never have encountered otherwise. It’s so rewarding to build genuine relationships with our customers and learn more about how their business is growing or what we can do to better serve them. It's really fun knowing you leased a customer their first warehouse space in a market and then seeing them scale their business from there.
How does Leasing collaborate with other teams at Link Logistics?
Caroline: I stay in close contact with our in-house Property Management and Construction teams, while brokers are my key external partners. When I’m working on a deal, I keep an open line of communication with our Property Management team so they're ready to support our customers the moment a lease is signed. I partner with our Regional Construction team to evaluate tenant improvement projects and vacant space prep. It's a very interconnected cycle. Brokers provide us with key insight on potential deals and market intel to allow us to send educated proposals that will be well-received by prospects.
What do you value most about Link Logistics' approach to industrial real estate?
Caroline: Link Logistics is one of the largest operators of industrial real estate in the country, and yet we're also willing to move with the market, take calculated risks, and find creative solutions for our deals. We have great flexibility to respond to what's actually happening in the market, and I think that makes a real difference in how we can adapt to customer needs and other dynamics.
What are you up to outside of work?
Caroline: Outside of work, I love reading historical biographies. I'm currently reading a biography on Benjamin Franklin written by Walter Isaacson. It’s an incredible overview of his incredibly influential life as a founding father of the United States. Running is another hobby of mine—I've completed both the Chicago and Denver marathons. I also love walking the Lakeshore path along Lake Michigan. It's a great place to unwind and decompress from a long day. On a more personal note, I recently got engaged, so wedding planning is the biggest priority for me at the moment!
