Companies Identify Las Vegas as an Expansion Market

Las Vegas is attracting continuing to attract industrial users. Whitebox, a Baltimore-based DTC company, has chosen the market for its West Coast hub, signing a 350,000-square-foot lease at Golden Triangle Logistics Center in North Las Vegas. The company chose Las Vegas for this expansion due to attractive real estate costs, access to labor and proximity to the ports in California.

“When considering its hub for the western states region, Whitebox identified Las Vegas after running analysis’ comparing real estate costs, accessible labor, proximity to consumers and 5 major U.S. ports in less than a day and almost every state west of the Mississippi in less than two days, business environment, and state incentives. The comparisons were ran for Reno, Inland Empire, Utah and Phoenix,” Alma Cuevas, director at Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com. Cuevas along with Jason Griffis and Zac Zaher represented Whitebox in the transaction.

Las Vegas is at the top of the list for many companies looking to expand to the West Coast or looking to relocate current West Coast facilities to a more cost-effective market. “Most recently, our team has represented companies from Maryland, New Jersey, Minnesota, Indiana, and California. Aside from a pro-business environment, Vegas services more than 10 major cities, or 60 million consumers, within a one-day drive. We’re also 4 hours closer to the Pacific Northwest than Phoenix,” says Griffis.

The market is largely benefiting from operational challenges in California, including high costs and taxes. Not only have this caused a an exodus from California, but companies expanding to the West Coast are also avoiding the market. “We have seen companies expanding and/or moving to Las Vegas,” Donna Alderson, executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com. “Many California companies, but also many that want to service the entire southwest, but want to avoid operating out of California for numerous reasons, including taxation, workmen’s comp rates, regulatory burdens, burdensome permitting procedures, and overall cost of doing business.”

It isn’t only the cost benefits attracting companies to the market. Las Vegas is also in a prime location to access both the ports as well as the rest of the country and large population centers. “Las Vegas has become an attractive market for many companies looking to service the western US. Interstate 15, I-40, and I-11 provide compelling logistics solutions; and Vegas can be expected to play a significant role in providing relief with supply chain kinks in neighboring markets,” says Zaher.

The Golden Triangle Logistics Center is a 2.2 million-square-foot facility. Whitebox leased an entire freestanding building.