The metro area's industrial real estate market had a solid 2013, absorbing 2.26-million-square-feet during the year, with nearly 400,000-square-feet of net absorption in the fourth quarter, according to Hicks' research.

The overall vacancy rate for the fourth quarter was 15.1%, down slightly from the third quarter rate of 15.2%. Several big deals occurred in the fourth, especially in the bulk warehouse sector. STAG Industrial, for example, purchased the 350,500-square-foot I-70 Commerce Center in suburban Springfield for $9.5 million. And fixture manufacturer idX Corp. decided to relocate from 721 Springfield St. in Dayton to a 219,000-square-foot space in the Rex Warehouse on Needmore Rd.

Hicks attributes much of the activity to the general revival of the US economy and the abundance of good locations along Dayton's transportation arteries, which provide distributors quick access to consumers in metropolitan areas across Ohio and neighboring states. The Abbott, White Castle, and Prologis developments, for example, sit along the I-70 and I-75 corridor north of the city and near air transportation.

“With more than 2-million-square-feet under construction and steadily increasing sales and leasing activity, net absorption for 2014 in the Greater Dayton area will meet or exceed 2013 levels,” Hicks' analysis notes.

But perhaps the most important development in 2014 will be Fuyao North America's expected purchase of a large portion of the 4.2-million-square-foot former GM Moraine Assembly Plant. The 2008-9 crash of the auto industry left it largely vacant, but the Chinese auto glass manufacturer wants to refurbish the property and start production by 2015, Hicks says. “They are still working out the exact details of that. But this will probably be the biggest thing that has happened in the Dayton area since the GM closure.”