COLUMBUS—This metro area's robust distribution market has recently brought in some of the nation's most important developers and investors, and another big player is ready to jump in as well. Xebec just purchased 106 acres southeast of the city and near the Rickenbacker Inland Port, the largest cargo-dedicated airport in the world. The Dallas-based company plans to develop in several phases the Groveport Logistics Hub, a master planned campus with five class A warehouse buildings ranging from 120,000 square feet to one million square feet.

“The logistics cluster surrounding the Rickenbacker Airport is one of the most strategic regions in the world for modern logistics,” says Randy Kendrick, founder and chief executive officer of Xebec. “With its vast consumer reach, this Southeast Columbus submarket is poised for continued growth and demand for high quality distribution and warehousing space with a special emphasis on the e-commerce space.”

Although Columbus was once known primarily as an office center, the growing need for distribution centers has made the metro area into one of the most prominent distribution corridors in the country. Truckers here can reach nearly half of the US population in a day's drive, including the all-important East Coast. And distribution spaces near Rickenbacker can forge links with freight hubs in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.