“E-commerce users are looking for a specific type of asset—with clear heights, trailer parking, washrooms, HVAC within the warehouse, light, power, a mezzanine—and until now, these really weren't available in second-generation buildings,” Scott Marshall, executive managing director of industrial services for the Americas at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “So because of this, they had to turn to new buildings, driving BTS.”

Most of Amazon's distribution centers are BTS. Likewise, Home Depot has shifted its development strategy from new stores to BTS fulfillment centers, like the one at Prologis Park 1-75 South in McDonough, GA that came on line in 2013. Prologis has built several distribution centers for Home Depot. And Mars/Wrigley Candy occupied a 1.3-million-square-foot, multi-temperature BTS development in Joliet, IL in 2015.

In other recent Atlanta industrial news, Jay Mitchell has joined forces with DCT Industrial Trust. Mitchell comes on board as a senior vice president based in Atlanta.

Mitchell is responsible for all property and market related activities including all development, acquisitions, leasing, and asset management in the Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville markets. DCT owns and operates 44 buildings totaling 11.8 million square feet with an additional 1.5 million square feet under development in those markets.

ATLANTA—E-commerce is changing the face of industrial real estate—literally. Although e-commerce is nothing new—Amazon came on the scene in 1994 and survived the dot-com bubble bursting six years later—e-commerce has surpassed early pundit expectations to revolutionize retail.

For many retailing giants, e-commerce has become as much an industrial and logistics function as a storefront function—and some 21st century retailing giants don't have a storefront operation at all. At the same time, technologies like drones are allowing delivery of many household items in less than an hour. But, again, it all comes back down to warehousing and logistics.

In response to e-commerce trends, as well as newfangled technologies and government requirements, developers are shifting commercial real estate strategies. Instead of building massive industrial facilities based on historic specs—or even constructing warehousing with more loading docks and higher ceilings—developers are catering to the exact requirements of tenants with build-to-suit development.

E-commerce is the primary driver of a new wave of BTS development trends. According to market research firm eMarketer, online retail grew 20% in 2015 compared to 2014 and should grow at about that same rate in 2016. E-commerce currently accounts for 6.7% of all retail globally and will grow up to 7.4% by the end of 2016, the firm reports.

“E-commerce users are looking for a specific type of asset—with clear heights, trailer parking, washrooms, HVAC within the warehouse, light, power, a mezzanine—and until now, these really weren't available in second-generation buildings,” Scott Marshall, executive managing director of industrial services for the Americas at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “So because of this, they had to turn to new buildings, driving BTS.”

Most of Amazon's distribution centers are BTS. Likewise, Home Depot has shifted its development strategy from new stores to BTS fulfillment centers, like the one at Prologis Park 1-75 South in McDonough, GA that came on line in 2013. Prologis has built several distribution centers for Home Depot. And Mars/Wrigley Candy occupied a 1.3-million-square-foot, multi-temperature BTS development in Joliet, IL in 2015.

In other recent Atlanta industrial news, Jay Mitchell has joined forces with DCT Industrial Trust. Mitchell comes on board as a senior vice president based in Atlanta.

Mitchell is responsible for all property and market related activities including all development, acquisitions, leasing, and asset management in the Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville markets. DCT owns and operates 44 buildings totaling 11.8 million square feet with an additional 1.5 million square feet under development in those markets.