Industrial

2017 Poised to Be Another Great Year for Chicagoland Industrial

by Kristin Harlow April 6, 2017

The Chicagoland industrial market has started 2017 with a full head of steam and doesn’t appear ready to cool down anytime soon. With historically low vacancy rates, high net absorption and strong tenant demand, the outlook is positive for new construction in the pipeline, even with the recent uptick in interest rates. Net absorption of industrial space topped 19.3 million square feet in 2016, outpacing the 18.2 million square feet of new product delivered, according to CoStar Group. The metro Chicago vacancy rate at the end of the year was 6.5 percent, a drop of about 50 basis points over the previous 12 months. As for 2017, we see increasing competition for well-located land sites, especially from speculative developers who see opportunity in the rising demand for state-of-the-art facilities equipped for today’s sophisticated users. The jungle effect We have seen strong activity from tenants ranging from global logistics providers to regional distributors. However, a large share of the total net absorption in 2016 came from one well-known and much sought-after tenant — Amazon. The retailing giant has been leasing warehouse/distribution space at a rapid pace, and it seems as though every other week we are reading about a new distribution method, business …

April 6, 2017

Industrial Market Reports Massachusetts Northeast Northeast Market Reports

E-commerce Activity Drives Boston Industrial Vacancy to Lowest Rate in 15 Years

by Taylor Williams March 29, 2017

E-commerce and the growth of the digital age have become important factors in the tightening industrial real estate market. With single-digit vacancy rates becoming the norm in nearly all of the Greater Boston submarkets, existing product cannot supply the space necessary to meet current market demand. Consumers’ shopping attitudes have changed, and retailers are having to adjust their strategies to meet their needs. In 2016, the Greater Boston industrial market recorded vacancies averaging 6.8 percent, the lowest in more than 15 years. The thriving e-commerce industry has been a large factor in the spike in demand. Last year, major e-commerce tenants like Amazon, FedEx and Wayfair expanded their presence in the Boston market with new leases on distribution centers, pushing 2016 absorption to almost 6 million square feet, an all-time record. Retailers are now looking to expand their coverage with multiple warehousing locations, pushing for facilities proximate to their specified consumer base. Instead of having one regional warehouse/distribution center, retail giants have zeroed in on infill submarkets surrounding cities to locate multiple warehouses close to the population center. Just last year, Amazon leased a 96,600-square-foot warehouse in Everett, minutes from Downtown Boston, which would become a base for grocery and …

March 29, 2017

Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Wisconsin

New Industrial Supply Struggles to Keep Pace With Absorption in Milwaukee

by Kristin Harlow March 16, 2017

Metro Milwaukee’s industrial market continued to be a strong performer in 2016, and this strength should continue for the foreseeable future. We’re now seeing a healthy uptick in new industrial development, and even speculative development in select submarkets. While the demand for industrial space has continued to increase, the new supply has failed to keep pace. Sustained quarterly absorption without a sufficient corresponding increase in new product coming to market continues to keep vacancy rates hovering around 4 percent, near the record lows, according to Xceligent and CoStar. The new industrial construction that is occurring continues to be driven by users expanding, relocating or consolidating their existing facilities and by limited build-to-suit developments undertaking Milwaukee-based firms such as Wangard Partners Inc., Phoenix Investors LLC and Briohn Building Corp. Spec building returns Speculative development is still relatively rare, but developers such as Zilber, HSA Development and Interstate Partners are all venturing into the speculative realm and with favorable results so far. HSA, for example, recently completed a 214,000-square-foot speculative building in Waukesha, and Zilber continues to build and fill buildings in the I-94 South corridor. In late 2016, Zilber unveiled plans for a 163,716-square-foot facility in Franklin and a 72,324-square-foot facility …

March 16, 2017

Industrial Market Reports North Carolina Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Rents, Occupancy Rise for Triangle’s Industrial Market as Supply Lags Demand

by John Nelson March 13, 2017

The Raleigh-Durham business climate has been on the climb for several years now and it doesn’t seem to be slowing anytime soon. The market continues to outpace most of the mid-tier markets across the country by all metrics of economic stability, quality of life, business environment, education, arts and quality of workforce. As a result, construction of office and retail projects has been strong, yet industrial construction and thus available space is lacking. Average asking rental rates have continued to rise in response to increasing demand and low supply. The remaining 550,000 square feet of industrial space that is expected to deliver has significant prelease commitments, creating competition for tenants looking for space. Raleigh-Durham’s warehouse market sits at a current vacancy of 3.8 percent with average asking rental rates at $5.01 per square foot triple net. The biggest challenge is for new and expanding tenants needing 35,000 to 200,000 square feet of space. Demand has been outpacing supply for several years in the market and industrial developers who recognized this trend were unable to fill the need because of the lack of available financing during the downturn. It has just been in the past 24 months that significant construction has …

March 13, 2017

Industrial Market Reports Northeast Northeast Market Reports Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Continues to Be One of the Top Performing Industrial Markets in U.S.

by Camren Skelton March 8, 2017

Philadelphia is well positioned in the Northeast to flourish in the industrial sector in 2017. With a centralized position in the Boston-New York-Washington, D.C. corridor, Philadelphia has capitalized on its superb location to firmly establish itself as a distribution hub leading to sustained positive momentum in all key market sectors. The e-commerce market has been experiencing significant growth and the demand for near immediacy in delivery has been the driving force behind the strong performance of the industrial sector nationwide over the past few years, especially in the Northeast. In 2016, the industrial sector in greater Philadelphia had a banner year for absorption with a net positive of 9.27 million square feet absorbed. That represents the largest growth in occupancy since the onset of the Great Recession and places Philadelphia among the top performing markets in the U.S. for net absorption in 2016. Vacancy rates for the region have fallen to 6.9 percent — the lowest they’ve been since 2008. Asking rental rates rose steadily throughout 2016 and stood at $4.77 per square foot at year-end – the highest they’ve been since 2008. Following a record year for industrial sales in 2015, sales volume remained strong in the greater Philadelphia …

March 8, 2017

California Industrial Market Reports Western Western Market Reports

Industrial, R&D Development Returns to San Diego In Full Force

by Camren Skelton March 7, 2017

After a decade of scarce industrial development in San Diego County, 2016 marked its strong return. About 1.3 million square feet of industrial/R&D space was completed, which is more than what was delivered between 2013 and 2015 combined. This year is expected to be an even more active year for industrial/R&D speculative and build-to-suit development with an additional 1.4 million square feet currently under construction. North County San Diego has become the concentrated hotspot for both speculative and build-to-suit industrial development. Nearly two-thirds of all new industrial/R&D development completed in 2016 was in North County, including about 233,227 square feet of speculative construction. This new wave of development was triggered by 16 consecutive quarters of rental rate increases and last year’s record-low vacancy rate of 4.7 percent for combined industrial/R&D properties countywide. Average asking rental rates are increasing quicker in North County than anywhere else in San Diego. North County’s average asking rental rates have increased by 5.9 percent since the end of 2015, whereas the countywide rate increased by only 3 percent in the same period. Vacancy will likely fluctuate between 4 percent and 5 percent throughout 2017 as net absorption keeps pace with new construction. Many organizations are …

March 7, 2017

Delaware Industrial Northeast

Kane Co. Brokers Sale of 80,000 SF Industrial Building in Dover

by Haisten Willis March 6, 2017

DOVER, DEL. – The Kane Co. has brokered the sale of an 80,000-square-foot industrial facility at 44 Industrial Park Drive in Dover. The property is the former warehouse of Kessler Sales and Distribution, a wholesale distributor of pipe, valves, fittings and water heaters. Peter Billipp of The Kane Co. represented the seller and procured the buyer.

March 6, 2017

Florida Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Major Expansions, JaxPort Boost Health of Jacksonville Industrial Market

by John Nelson February 20, 2017

Jacksonville’s industrial market continues to improve as encouraging fundamentals are in place that are prompting developers to commit to building spec warehouse again. The lack of new construction over the last eight years, the expected reduction in regulations and taxes by the new administration in Washington and the commitment to upgrades in the local infrastructure will drive growth in our market. A 5.3 percent vacancy rate for warehouses and distribution space is also a major factor. With 126 million square feet of existing warehouse space spread over 860 square miles, our market has room to grow. Recent announcements of major expansions coming to Jacksonville include Amazon, General Electric and UPS. Amazon will occupy 2.5 million square feet in North Jacksonville and will have the largest impact on employment in the history of the city. General Electric is leasing 500,000 square feet in Hillwood’s Cecil Commerce Center. Situated on Jacksonville’s Westside adjacent to Pattillo’s Westside Industrial Park, UPS is adding 260,000 square feet to its existing 560,000-square-foot facility. When completed in the fall of 2019, the 820,000-square-foot facility will be able to process more than 80,000 packages per hour. Jacksonville is a tier-two market nationally and typically has a few large-scale …

February 20, 2017

Industrial Midwest Texas Top Stories

DRA Advisors Buys 19.8 MSF National Industrial Portfolio for $1.1B

by Nellie Day February 8, 2017

NEW YORK — DRA Advisors has purchased a 19.8-million-square-foot industrial portfolio that spans 21 U.S. markets for $1.1 billion. The portfolio contains a total of 184 properties that are 94 percent leased to more than 500 tenants. The properties reside in industrial hubs such as Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio. The assets range from less than 15,000 square feet to 925,000 square feet, according to CoStar Group. Cabot Properties Fund II sold the portfolio, concluding the fund’s disposition activity. The fund was launched in late 2005. This acquisition will allow New York-based DRA Advisors to expand its industrial footprint to more than 45 million square feet. DRA’s industrial assets are primarily located in Texas, California, Illinois, Indiana and Florida. The private equity real estate firm currently has more than $10 billion of assets under management. This includes more than 70 million square feet of commercial real estate and more than 12,000 residential units. Eastdil Secured and Cushman & Wakefield represented Boston-based Cabot Properties in the transaction. The private equity real estate firm manages and operates about 160 million square feet of industrial properties throughout North America and the United Kingdom that are valued at $57 billion. — Nellie Day

February 8, 2017

California Industrial Market Reports Western Western Market Reports

Downtown LA’s Industrial Supply Gives Way to Other Uses

by Camren Skelton February 7, 2017

When you visit Los Angeles, the sight of the cranes looming in the sky in all directions shows a city undergoing significant revitalization and redevelopment. Not so long ago, the Downtown area of Los Angeles went “dark.” This occurred after the hustle and bustle of the normal workday was done and the streets were mostly empty, businesses closed. Fortunately, Los Angeles has seen significant construction and redevelopment over the past few years. According to the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID), the population of Downtown Los Angeles was 18,000 people in 1999. Today, the population is estimated at 63,208, with a daytime population of 500,000. The residential inventory consists of 36,964 units with 11,868 under construction and 19,054 proposed for a total of 48,832 units as of the third quarter of 2016. There are 8,163 hotel rooms with 2,765 more under construction and 3,636 proposed for a total of 14,564. Retail has 2 million square feet under construction and an additional 1.5 million square feet proposed. Major industrial activity includes the announcement of Warner Music Group relocating from Burbank to the Arts District where it will occupy 257,000 square feet at the former Ford Factory, which was constructed in 1912. …

February 7, 2017

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