DALLAS—“Big deals” are starting to come to town, said panelists in RealShare Dallas' third presentation, “What's Driving the Industrial Market in Dallas?”

Panelists said that, currently, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is a solid, top 3 industrial market.

“One million square feet isn't even a big deal anymore,” said Jeff D. Thornton, regional senior vice president-Texas at Duke Realty Corp.

The issue for those in the mix, panelists agreed, is finding a large tract of land for industrial use in the area. You need a minimum of 50 acres for the “industrial behemoths,” Thornton said, which isn't readily available thanks to the area's relative congestion and gas plays like the Barnett Shale.

“It's toilet paper, toothpaste and tires,” said Rob Riner, partner at Panattoni Development Co., referring to the logistics of the niche.

Moderator Ronald L. Holmes, who is founder of Holmes Firm PC, asked thoughtful questions which gave the panel a conversational appeal.

Other panelists included Allen Gump, executive vice president of the industrial division at Colliers International; Josh McArtor, executive vice president CBRE; and Brett Owens, principal/managing director for brokerage services at Transwestern.

Owens perhaps best summed up the presentation: “Dallas has a reputation for overbuilding but right now, we're in a healthy place.”