Tentative steps to revolutionize the way warehouses are conceived and designed are being made in the United States. No longer do they need to be gigantic spaces on a single floor. Instead, they could be multistory structures with docks on more than one level.

A handful of such facilities already exist in the U.S. or are in the process of construction. Indeed, according to a new report by Leslie Lanne, senior managing director with JLL, 2023 marks the five-year anniversary of multistory warehouse development in the nation. This new category of buildings even has its own name: "urban logistics." Amazon's need for distribution centers is helping drive some of the growth.

Multistory warehouses have been used in Asia for more than two decades, and a few such structures are also to be found in Europe. The most remarkable is a 22-story warehouse in Hong Kong, but most draw the limit at five floors, Lanne said.