The 195 million-square-foot Washington, D.C., metropolitan industrial market features various sectors and centers of demand across the region. The overall market has been extremely healthy, with unique forces impacting the area’s primary regions of Northern Virginia, Suburban Maryland and Washington, D.C. The overall metro market expanded between first-quarter 2017 and first-quarter 2018. Net absorption in the period was 1.7 million square feet, albeit a significant slowdown from the previous 12-month cycle (4.2 million square feet). After falling significantly during the past five years, vacancy remained relatively flat in first-quarter 2018 and settled at 6.8 percent, a 10-basis-point drop year-over-year. A lack of available space limited opportunities for occupancy gains but allowed owners to increase asking rents. The average asking rent rose sharply to $10.04 per square foot, up from $9.58 per square foot one year earlier. Of the 1.9 million square feet of new supply under construction, 1.3 million square feet was in Northern Virginia’s less constrained but in-demand Loudoun County. Overall new supply was 55 percent preleased at the end of the first quarter. The Washington metro industrial market inside the Interstate 495 Beltway contrasts in many ways to the market outside the Beltway. The most significant difference is …
Industrial
BAYTOWN, TEXAS — A partnership between Houston-based Investment & Development Ventures LLC (IDV) and Sealy & Co. has broken ground on Thompson 10 Logistics Center, a 390,000-square-foot industrial facility in metro Houston. The project, which is being developed on a speculative basis, will be situated on 26.8 acres at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Thompson Road in Baytown, an eastern suburb. Thompson 10 Logistics Center will include a 130,074-square-foot front-load building and a 260,148 square-foot cross-dock building, each with 32-foot clear heights. Completion is slated for spring 2019. Tom Lynch and Mark Redlingshafer of CBRE represented IDV in its acquisition of the land and in securing an equity partner in Sealy. CBRE will also handle leasing of the property.
BARTLETT, ILL. — Clarke Packing & Crating Co. has signed a 108,163-square-foot industrial lease at Brewster Creek Business Park in Bartlett. Clarke will occupy space within a new 186,000-square-foot facility that features a clear height of 32 feet, 35 exterior docks and parking for 224 cars. Clarke currently leases 63,000 square feet at 4150 Chandler Drive in Hanover Park. Elise Couston, Adam Marshall and Mark Deady of Newmark Knight Frank represented the owner, Barings Real Estate, in the lease transaction. George Pappas of Hartford Associates represented the tenant.
As industrial development ramps up across the country in an effort to keep pace with demand, developers are eyeing Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) for new projects, forcing existing players to get more creative with their site selections and design elements. The DFW metroplex has experienced millions of square feet of industrial development over the past year. The market currently has more than 27.9 million square feet of space under construction. If DFW continues to expand at this pace, year-over-year industrial growth will outpace that of 2017. As infill sites become more scarce, developers revisit land that was once looked over for previous projects. Some of these sites include closed landfills, shuttered golf courses and tracts that may have had unusual hurdles such as drainage, utility or environmental issues. Going South Of all the submarkets that comprise the metroplex, South Dallas enjoys the largest share of development. Over 7 million square feet of product is currently under construction in this submarket, which may puzzle those familiar with the area, as it has historically been less attractive to smaller, more regional tenants. Location is partly to blame for this pattern. South Dallas can be quite a drive for local business owners. In addition, …
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Cushman & Wakefield has secured a 450,000-square-foot, full-building lease for moving services provider Clutter at 1065 Cranbury South River Road in South Brunswick. The newly constructed facility is a speculative development by IDI Logistics. Andrew Stypa and Daniel Badenhausen of Cushman & Wakefield represented Clutter in the transaction. Cushman & Wakefield’s Jason Goldman, Andrew Siemsen and Marc Petrella represented IDI Logistics. Clutter will move into the facility by the end of Summer 2018.
LAKELAND, FLA. — Ridge, the industrial development arm of Transwestern Development Co., has sold Lakeland Logistics Center, a 490,000-square-foot industrial campus located at 2015-2025 W. Memorial Blvd. in the Tampa Bay community of Lakeland. Boston-based Cabot Properties acquired the two-building campus for an undisclosed price. Chris Riley and David Murphy of CBRE brokered the transaction. Each building at Lakeland Logistics Center totals 245,000 square feet and is divisible to 44,000 square feet. The buildings each feature front-load or cross-dock capability, 74 dock doors, 32-foot clear heights, 45 trailer parking spaces and a 3.5-acre staging base. Ridge broke ground on Lakeland Logistics Center in 2015 and fully delivered the facilities in early 2017. The project was 50 percent leased at the time of sale to Parksite Inc. and Recleim Nova LLC. Julia Silva Rettig and Jared Bonshire of Cushman & Wakefield are handling the property’s leasing assignment.
PASADENA, TEXAS — Multinational chemicals firm LyondellBasell has begun work on a $2.4 billion manufacturing plant in Pasadena, a suburb of Houston located near the port. Spanning 140 acres, the plant will manufacture propylene oxide and tertiary butyl alcohol, two chemicals used in the production of a variety of consumer goods, including bedding, furniture, carpeting, building materials and adhesives. The plant is expected to begin operations by 2021. An analysis from the Greater Houston Partnership states that the project will have more than $450 million in economic impact on the region.
GARLAND, TEXAS — TIG Real Estate Services Inc. has negotiated the sale of a 15,000-square-foot industrial building located at 3640 Marquis Drive in Garland, a northeastern suburb of Dallas. The Class B property was built in 1972 and includes eight drive-in doors. Matt Spellman of TIG represented the buyer in the transaction. Other terms of sale were not disclosed.
HODGKINS, ILL. — PCCP and Midwest Industrial Funds have acquired a vacant, 490,000-square-foot warehouse in Hodgkins, about 20 miles southwest of Chicago. The purchase price was not disclosed. The buyers plan to renovate the property and rename it as Hodgkins Center of Commerce. The venture plans to tear down part of the building in order to modernize it with 45 additional exterior docks, new office space, ESFR fire system, new roof and HVAC systems. Upon completion, the property will include 408,000 square feet with 62 dock doors and a clear height of 26 feet. The seller was not disclosed.
FRANKLIN PARK, ILL. — Matthews Real Estate Investment Services has brokered the sale of an 87,464-square-foot industrial building in Franklin Park for $11.6 million. DHL occupies the property. Neither the buyer nor the seller was disclosed. Maxx Bauman of Matthews brokered the transaction. The sales price represented a sub-6 percent capitalization rate.