Baytown site of latest big-box logistics project
October 19, 2017
Houston-based Pontikes Development plans to develop a 3 million-square-foot distribution center in Baytown to serve companies handling products from plastic pellets to finished retail goods.
The Port 10 Logistics Center, planned for eight buildings, will be built on 246 acres of undeveloped land near the southeast corner of Interstate 10 and Thompson Road. The first phase will include two cross-dock buildings, of 485,000 and 295,000 square feet, and is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2018. Two-thirds of the project will be rail-served, according to JLL, which is marketing the project for the developer.
Companies operating there will be able to handle international distribution through Port Houston and reach nearly half of Texas within a four-hour drive, JLL said.
The multimodal logistics project, a short drive from Port Houston's Bayport and Barbours Cut container terminals and two other deep-water ship terminals, will have more than half a mile of freeway frontage.
"We're going to be able to transfer cargo by truck, ship, rail and barge," said JLL broker John Talhelm.
The park will include on-site storage for about 450 railcars, trailer storage, and it will offer direct access to Union Pacific's Coady rail yard.
Pontikes is breaking ground before securing tenants, which Talhelm said is not unusual for industrial projects. The vacancy rate for industrial buildings in the southeast Houston region is 4.7 percent.
"It's a very strong market and it has been a strong market for some time," he said.
Port 10 Logistics Center adds to a number of new big-box warehouses going up in the Houston region as demand for consumer products grows along with the population. A record seven warehouse and distribution facilities greater than 400,000 square feet are set for completion in 2017, according to JLL research.
Fifty miles west, another speculative development recently broke ground at Oakmont West 10 in Katy. Oakmont Industrial Group started building a nearly 700,000-square-foot warehouse on 42 acres off Interstate 10. The project is near Amazon's upcoming fulfillment center.
Talhelm and JLL broker Kevin Erck will handle leasing and marketing for Pontikes Development.
Pontikes Development, an arm of Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, handles a range of construction including educational, commercial, government, manufacturing, retail and aviation facilities.