E-Commerce’s Influence Continues to Fuel Industrial Builds, Leases

IRVING, TX—The rapid growth in e-commerce and its impact on warehouse and distribution space has been a significant factor in Dallas-Fort Worth’s growth. In a recent report, Avison Young expects this level of activity to continue for the foreseeable future.

As an example of this ferocious growth, Parc SouthWest, a 292,997-square-foot two-building class-A urban industrial development, is 100% leased, according to developer Jackson-Shaw. Good Sportsman Marketing, a leading designer and distributor of branded hunting accessories, has leased the entire space in Building A, which is approximately 180,497 square feet.

Building B will be fully occupied by three tenants. These tenants are Hallmark Building Supplies Inc., a marketer and distributor of branded building materials, which has leased 51,850 square feet; Flat World Supply Chain, which provides transportation technology tools and logistic services, has leased 43,293 square feet; and Victory Polymers Corp, which supplies spray polyurethane foam insulation technology and products, has leased the remaining 17,286 square feet.

“Before the construction of Parc SouthWest, there was a notable absence of quality class-A industrial space for small to medium-sized tenants in the Great Southwest, one of the most in-demand industrial submarkets in the area,” said Grant Pearson, vice president of development at Jackson-Shaw. “The construction of this vital development has provided an alternative option for these smaller tenants seeking a modern space that wasn’t previously available in this premier submarket.”

Positioned on 28 acres, Parc SouthWest is located south of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and offers direct access to State Highway 161 and State Highway 183. Both of these highways connect to major north-south and east-west thoroughfares, and are in equal proximity to the central business districts of Dallas and Fort Worth.

Building A, a 180,497-square-foot front load building, is located at 5250 Frye Rd. Building B, a 112,429-square-foot rear load building, is located at 5251 Frye Rd. Both offer 32-foot and 30-foot clear heights, 130-foot truck courts and ESFR sprinklers.

“Good Sportsman Marketing and Hallmark are already occupying and the other two tenants will take occupancy in November,” Pearson tells GlobeSt.com. “It was only 75 to 80% leased at completion. The final two leases were signed after the buildings were completed. However this would still indicate that there is continued demand for this size space in the Great Southwest.”

GID is the project’s equity partner, Ridgemont Commercial Construction is the general contractor for the project, with GSR Andrade as the project’s architect, Halff Associates as the civil engineering firm and Veritex Community Bank as construction financier. Luke Davis and Sarah Ozanne of Stream Realty Partners managed the leasing assignment for the development.

“Parc SouthWest’s location in the coveted Great Southwest makes it one of the most valuable distribution sites in the market,” said Ozanne. “Only minutes from the airport and state highways, this site offers tenants easy, direct access to both air and ground transportation, making anywhere in DFW and as well as nationally, readily available to them.”

The market has been growing by more than 20 million square feet of new supply annually for the past several years while vacancy rates have remained flat, currently standing at 5.3%. A combination of strong demand for speculative space and a few large build-to-suit projects have helped keep vacancy at a moderate level, according to the Avison Young report.

Strong demand and leasing velocity have helped push rents upward to an average of $5.88 per square foot, representing a 6% growth rate during the past 12 months. The submarkets with the highest rents in second quarter were the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport submarket at $7.29 per square foot, Northwest Dallas at $7.27 per square foot and South Stemmons at $7.18 per square foot, says AY.