Industrial development is still moving forward in top markets. Despite the market change catalyzed by the pandemic, developers haven't made any major strategic adjustment. Duke Realty is a prime example. The firm recently broke ground on a 1.2 million square foot logistics facility in Southern California, and the property is just one in an active development pipeline.

"We are always actively developing in the top 20 logistics markets in the U.S. Our highest priority has and will continue to be in the high barrier coastal tier one markets like south Florida, New Jersey, southern and northern California and Seattle. More than 80% of our land bank for development going forward is in these markets," Jim Connor, chairman and CEO of Duke Realty, tells GlobeSt.com. "Additionally, as rental rates continue to rise in the coastal markets we have targeted for growth, we believe there is potential to achieve yields higher than our initial underwriting for the speculative portion of our development pipeline."

Duke Realty currently has 3.1 million square feet of industrial product under construction in Southern California alone. "Southern California is one the coastal tier one markets where we are making significant investments," says Connor. "Our plan is to remain steady in our measured approach to investments in coastal tier one markets while considering infill opportunities."