Amazon to Occupy 8 Out Of 10 Top Industrial Projects This Year
Industrial completions are expected to increase by 24% year over year, up to 342 million square feet across 1,040 properties.
Amazon distribution centers will account for 8 of the top 10 largest industrial projects underway in the US this year, with a total footprint of 28.3 million square feet—an area about the size of New York City’s Central Park.
Data from Commercial Edge shows the e-commerce giant is constructing four warehouses totaling 14.8 million square feet in Colorado Springs; Suffolk, Va.; Mt. Juliet, Tenn.; and San Diego. The company is set to lease 13.5 million square feet in deals with Fortress Investment Group (Little Rock), Dermody Properties (Wilmington, De.), and Seefried Industrial Properties (Pflugerville, Tex.).
Industrial development ramped up last year to meet the demands of WFH consumers sheltering in place, with nearly 276 million square feet added across 915 properties, according to the report. Dallas and Phoenix topped the list of prime locations for industrial growth, with both cities ushering in more than 25 million square feet of new industrial space. All told, the 2020 construction totals were nearly double that of the 2019 pipeline.
As of March 1, CommercialEdge predicted industrial completions to increase by 24% year over year, up to 342 million square feet across 1,040 properties. That’s a five-year high, according to the CommercialSearch analysis and the size of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
And Dallas is expected to again lead the way this year, adding an estimated 8% of the nationwide total with 28 million square feet and 79 projects. The region has enjoyed a record run as one of the top industrial markets in the country from a growth perspective, delivering 33.7 million square feet from the fourth quarter 2019 to third quarter 2020. DFW Airport is one of the most popular submarkets in the region.
“Investors are highly attracted to the DFW airport due to its proximity to the general rapidly rising population, as well as the growing importance of the airport as a freight hub of the South Central region,” Peter Kroner, investor research, industrial, JLL, told GlobeSt.com in a previous interview. “Additionally, the broadening buyer pool launching investment into industrial assets is highly competitive, and this asset proves that the increased competition has driven investor interest in assets on ground leases near airport proximity.”
Phoenix, Chicago, and the Inland Empire in Southern California follow closely behind Dallas.
“Clearly, the pandemic has accelerated the shift toward e-commerce, and it’s evident in the industrial completions data,” the CommercialSearch report notes. Logistics and deliveries have never been this important and, at least for 2021, it looks like they will remain as such.”