by: Steve Brown, Real Estate Editor
Busy developers delivered more new warehouse in Dallas-Fort Worth than ever in 2017.
A record 26.8 million square feet of new industrial building space opened its doors in North Texas last year, according to a new report from commercial property firm CBRE.
In the last seven years almost 100 million square feet of new warehouse projects have been built in D-FW - one of the highest totals for any market in the country.
Almost 20 million square feet is still in the development pipeline.
Half of what's being built is already spoke for by companies looking to expand their e-commerce and consumer products footprint in North Texas.
CBRE analysts said the continued strong construction is "not unexpected, as distribution centers have become more sophisticated to meet specific occupier needs
"Market experts say D-FW will see more distribution center consolidation into larger regional and super-regional hubs," the property firm said in a new report. "Being located adjacent to or near third party logistics groups such as FedEx, UPS and additional fulfillment service providers is now a major factor in real estate decision making for industrial tenants."
Expanding and relocating warehouse tenants rented almost 20 million square feet of industrial space in 2017 - the second highest net leasing total of this real estate cycle, according to CBRE.
Most of the warehouse leasing was in North Fort Worth, the Grand Prairie-Arlington area and southern Dallas County.
Recent major leases were signed by companies including 3M, Elctrolux, Stonecrop Technologies, Woods Distribution Solutions and Ecolab, according to CBRE.
Most of the remaining warehouse construction in North Texas area is located in the southern Dallas County market along Interstates 20 and 45. Almost 8 million square feet of warehouses are being built in that area.
About 3.6 million square feet is being built in North Fort Worth with another 2 million square feet on the way near D/FW Airport.
Even with all the construction, only about 6.4 percent of the industrial market was vacant at the end of 2017 - up only a fraction from a year earlier.
To see the article on the DMN site,
click here January 4, 2018
