KNIGHTDALE, N.C. — Merritt Properties plans to build a light industrial business park in Knightdale, a metro Raleigh market near Interstates 540 and 87. The company bought 35 acres off Hinton Oaks Boulevard in the East Wake County town for $2.5 million.
The development, known as Merritt Midway Business Park, will include up to five flex and light industrial buildings totaling 271,450 square feet. Properties will range from 28,800 to 84,700 square feet and feature 18-foot clear heights, with leasable bays starting at approximately 3,300 square feet.
Merritt expects to deliver the park during the fourth quarter of 2021. Merritt Midway Business Park should help satisfy pent-up demand for industrial space as the northeast Wake County submarket is 95 percent occupied and has seen 4.4 percent rent growth over the past 12 months.
Barry Bowling of CBRE represented Merritt in the land transaction, and Jimmy Barnes of NAI Tri Properties represented the undisclosed seller. Barnes, Ed Brown and Michael Wallace of NAI Tri Properties will help oversee leasing for Merritt Midway Business Park.
Baltimore-based Merritt owns 736,740 square feet of flex/light industrial product across two developments in the Raleigh-Durham area. The company’s first project, Merritt TW Crossing in Durham, delivered its first building in December and the remaining three buildings are slated to deliver this quarter.