DFW Continues to Lead Industrial Leasing, Building
As e-commerce and last mile logistics tenants continue to fuel a massive industrial space expansion, the location of Steelcase’s buildings, access to employment and highways were big factors in choosing a site.
CARROLLTON, TX—As e-commerce continues to get more ubiquitous in Americans’ daily lives, manufacturing and last-mile logistics dig in for positions of growth. To that end, office/medical office/education furniture manufacturer Steelcase Inc., valued at $3-plus billion, recently acquired Plano-based Smith System Manufacturing Co.
Following this announcement, the firm leased a new spec mega-manufacturing building in the DFW metro. The facility is located at 1050 and 1150 Luna Rd. in Carrollton and spans approximately 618,000 square feet. Steelcase is expected to begin occupying the space this summer.
“Our company has been on a growth trajectory, and the location, along with the building’s features, was the perfect choice as we made this acquisition,” said Allan Smith, vice president of global marketing at Steelcase.
NAI Robert Lynn’s president Mark Miller and executive vice president Dave Peterson partnered with Arie Saloman from NAI Puget Sound to arrange the lease.
“The customized building enables Steelcase to expand its capabilities and support manufacturing growth for years to come,” said Miller. “I’m optimistic about the manufacturing outlook in Dallas/Fort Worth. Steelcase is in a great location for success.”
Steelcase’s new warehouse offers the company a variety of building features including a large loading dock for shipping and receiving with 32- to 36-foot clear-height and access to several major highways and Belt Line Road. Additionally, the community attracts a large labor workforce and Steelcase plans to hire approximately 400 seasonal employees this year.
“By working with the developer prior to construction, we were able to address specific requirements that would be necessary for our client to meet their manufacturing needs,” Peterson tells GlobeSt.com. “The location of the buildings, access to employment and major highways were significant factors in choosing this site.”
E-commerce and last mile logistics tenants continue to fuel a massive industrial space expansion throughout the country, with 272 million square feet of construction completed across 46 markets during the last 12 months. According to Avison Young’s spring 2019 global industrial market report, there is another 274 million square feet in the pipeline as developers seek to satisfy demand for new space with proximity to transportation networks and large population pools.
The industrial market in Dallas-Fort Worth benefits from a centralized location and strong transportation/logistics infrastructure. Dallas topped two key categories in the report, which analyzed activity from second quarter 2018 through first quarter 2019.
The venerable industrial market led the top five lists for space under construction (30.9 million square feet) and absorption (23.4 million square feet). It ranked second for construction completions during the 12-month period with 29.4 million square feet, behind Los Angeles at 39.3 million square feet.
“Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the healthiest industrial markets in the country, with more than 30 million square feet under construction, a consistently low vacancy rate, increasing rental rates and stable investment activity,” said Mike McElwee, a principal in Avison Young’s Dallas office. “This activity is the culmination of multiple years of significant business and population growth, and the region’s comparatively lower cost of living and doing business.”
Among the companies recently committing to large blocks of space in the market are Home Depot, Ashley Furniture and Living Spaces. Home Depot has announced plans to open a multimillion dollar distribution facility in DFW.