Earlier this year I completed a transaction in where I represented the tenant and my senior partner, Brock Wilson, represented the landlord. At first, I initially thought that loading was their key criteria in that they could not be “competing” with neighbors for truck court. They needed “exclusive use” of the area in front of their dock doors for staging and unloading reasons. We identified 2 properties, one being in GSW, and the other being on DFW airport land. The GSW property was a free standing building and was 20%-30% cheaper than the airport building.
After getting proposals back from both properties, I was convinced that they would move forward on the GSW property. But, to my surprise, they notified me that they the airport property or NFTZ (North Foreign Trade Zone) property was their first choice. After having discussion with my client, Brad, I found out that the majority of potential customers were north of the NFTZ location. This proximity to these potential customers justified paying the extra freight on PSF price.
The landlord was extremely motivated to get a deal done due to quarterly obligations, and was very aggressive with incentives. We had a deal inked within a week of touring the property. The main take-away from this transaction that I had was, just because you are an “expert” in your market, you still need to show your client everything, even if you don’t think that a property will be functional for your client. You can guide your client to the “perceived” best option, but in reality it is them making the decision or signing the check, not you.
Joe Santaularia is a Vice President for Bradford Companies working the DFW Airport market specializing in
Industrial leasing and brokerage. 9400 NCX, Suite 500 Dallas, TX 75231 Ph: 972-337-9325
October 13, 2014
