COLUMBUS— As reported yesterday in GlobeSt.com, the Opus Group's recent decision to break ground on a speculative distribution center in suburban Groveport is just the latest signal that the industrial revival which hit many core markets, including Chicago, Atlanta, the Inland Empire, New Jersey and others more than one year ago, has now hit the Columbus metro area.
The company will finish a 484,216-square-foot structure, the eighth building at its Opus Business Center, by this November, just several months after filling up the 496,000-square-foot Building 7 by signing a food company to a 180,000-square-foot lease.
“That certainly didn't hurt, but it was just one of the overall signs that the market in Columbus is picking up,” Douglas J. Swain, vice president and general manager of Opus Development Company, LLC, tells GlobeSt.com. “What we looked at in our analysis was the very low vacancy rate for modern bulk product.”
What Opus officials saw was that any company needing around 200,000-square-feet to 300,000-square-feet in a modern bulk distribution building, that is, cross-docked space with 32' clear heights in a relatively new building, among other amenities, had “no chance,” Swain adds. “If you looked at the product in the market, it was typically older product, usually older than 15 years, single load, and 28' or lower. Indianapolis has been way out in front of Columbus when it comes to developing modern bulk space,” he says, but it's time for Columbus to catch up.
“We think 400,000 to 500,000-square feet is a nice spot to be in; we could divide it up for several tenants, but we think it's also appropriate for a single-user.” Building 8 will accommodate parking for 200 cars and 50 trucks, feature a 32-foot clear height, 2,500-square-feet of office space, and Opus will construct with the shell allowing for quick tenant occupancy.
Swain seems quite confident that Opus will secure one or more tenants for the new development. “There are a couple of other projects under construction around Columbus and they will probably get their fair share of looks,” but with the rise of e-commerce, supply chains are reconfiguring to allow same-day delivery or at least close to it, and the resulting demand for distribution space should easily absorb the new supply.
Along with other retailers and suppliers, especially for the automotive and healthcare industries, “that's really what drives this market.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
