Fast E-Commerce Growth Fuels Northeast Industrial Development
The Northeast industrial region, with more than 30.6 million consumers and more than a third of the nation’s population within an eight-hour drive, has been a primary focus of industrial activity.
NEW YORK CITY – The proliferation of e-commerce continues to shift focus from brick-and-mortar storefronts to industrial facilities with easy access to population centers. The Northeast industrial region, with more than 30.6 million consumers and more than a third of the nation’s population within an eight-hour drive, has been a primary focus of industrial development activity, Leslie Lanne, managing director with JLL’s Northeast Industrial Region, tells GlobeSt.com.
“The Northeast Industrial Region and the New York City market will see continued activity in 2020 and coming years,” Lanne said. “State borders and former market delineations are less of a consideration than in the past as space users now look across the region as a whole, and at strategic locations within the dense urban environment of New York City, for space to satisfy needs.”
And within this region, the greater New York metro area is among the most active, with numerous new multi-story logistics centers underway to provide swift access for delivery. Market players continue to skim the boroughs for areas that present prime opportunities where retailers can set-up shop to meet their customer demands of next-day and same-day delivery of products. And developers are building industrial facilities to meet this demand.
In the latter portion of 2019, DH Property Holdings started construction on its 3-story, 336,000-square-foot, Class-A e-commerce development in the Brooklyn Waterfront submarket. Brooklyn has more than 2 million square feet in additional e-commerce development planned or underway, including 2505 Bruckner Boulevard and Sunset Industrial Park. Queens and The Bronx have also become key places of interest for developers as retailers look to grow their last-mile network there.
The current economic expansion, one of the longest in history, driven by consumer spending growth has fueled the industrial market, which has absorbed more than 144.1 million square feet since Q3 2014. Vacancy in the sector has continually moved to new lows and now stands at 3.6 percent. And this trend appears likely to continue.