The Louisville, KY-based ladder maker, touted as the largest in North America, was looking to shave per sf costs by exiting the D/FW Airport submarket, says its broker, Brett Owens of Dallas-based Henry S. Miller Commercial. "They didn't need to be near the airport," he tells GlobeSt.com. "They were looking for cheaper rent." The long search ended at Chicago-based First Industrial Realty Trust's Parkway Distribution Center at 823 Heinz Way in the Great Southwest.

In the Great Southwest, 1970s-era industrial space can be had for $2 per sf net unlike the airport submarket where buildings are newer and prices higher. Market reports put the airport area's distribution center space at $4.32 per sf on average.

"There were lots of options that would have worked. But, First Industrial was able to make the deal we were looking for from an economic standpoint," Owens says. "First Industrial was able to get more aggressive on the rate than anybody." Talks produced a stair-stepped lease and minor tenant improvements for Louisville Ladder's share of a 160,000-sf bulk warehouse, built in 1976 at the far southern end of the industrial district. First Industrial's Brock Wilson handled its side of the talks.