Ground Breaking for 488,000-SF Distribution Center

PORTLAND-Using Perlo McCormack Pacific as general contractor, Trammell Crow Co. breaks ground this week on a two-building, 488,000-sf distribution center in the 2,800-acre Rivergate Industrial District. Trammell Crow, which will also lease and manage the building, was hired by Kennedy Associates Real Estate Counsel, which in investing $20 million in the project on behalf of Multi-Employer Property Trust, a $3 billion union trades pension fund based in Delaware.

The ceremonious beginning this Thursday morning will come a little more than two weeks after Kennedy Associates closed on a 55-year, $4-million lease deal with the Port of Portland for the 23 acres near Terminal 6 on which the buildings will be constructed for the marine distribution market. GlobeSt.com reported the deal late last year.

The project is being developed to capitalize on the cargo handling space needs of regional shippers. The Port’s land lease agreement provides financial incentives for MEPT if its facilities significantly increase the number of import containers flowing through the port, which currently exports four times what it imports, forcing the port to go shopping for empty containers in other ports.