The Avera Cos. developing 484K-SF spec distribution center on Grand Parkway in Baytown
June 23, 2023
Another distribution center is being built in Baytown.
Houston-based The Avera Cos. has broken ground on Kilgore Grand Parkway, a 484,424-square-foot cross-dock warehouse building on the corner of Grand Parkway at Kilgore Parkway.
The office and industrial real estate developer, with equity partner AEW Capital Management, acquired the roughly 34-acre site in late 2021 and broke ground on the distribution center in late April, said Greg Holmes, vice president of development at Avera. The project's estimated delivery date is in the second quarter of 2024.
The land previously belonged to the Richter Family Partnership Ltd. and was valued at $3.39 million in 2022, according to the Chambers County Appraisal District. The value changed from $610,560 in each of the previous five years.
Kilgore Grand Parkway will feature build-to-suit office space, 40-foot clear height, a 185-foot truck court, 60-foot speed bays, 107 dock high doors and 109 trailer parking spots.
The project's location on the Grand Parkway less than 2 miles south of Interstate 10 and a short freeway drive from the Port of Houston’s container terminals makes it a great fit for e-commerce or other companies that benefit from quick access to the port, Holmes said.
"We're one of the last pieces spoken for with frontage on (U.S. Highway) 99, which we think is a great thing," he said. "We got very lucky on tying this piece up."
The distribution center will be able to accommodate one or two companies and has attracted interest from prospective tenants since breaking ground in April, he said. Kelley Parker with Cushman & Wakefield handles leasing.
Avera’s construction arm is building the facility, which has been designed by Houston-based Goree.
Avera has developed several industrial buildings in Houston’s southeast market, including the 644,000-square-foot Cedar Port Logistics leased by Pennsylvania-based online restaurant supply company Webstaurant Store and the 500,000-square-foot Vinmar International space, both in the massive TGS Cedar Port Industrial Park. Avera also delivered, leased and sold the 154,860-square-foot Red Bluff Industrial property in Pasadena this year, Holmes said.
“We're very familiar with the southeast, and we know we wanted to be back in Baytown, southeast Houston, being close to both container terminals,” he said.
Elsewhere in Greater Houston, Avera is developing 290 Grand Logistics, a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center on U.S. Highway 290 and Kermier Road in northwest Harris County, and it is currently building Champions Park Logistics, a 242,000-square-foot front-load warehouse just north of Beltway 8 on Antoine Drive.
Avera currently has no other projects planned but is actively looking in Houston and other Texas locations, Holmes said.
In and around Baytown, developers keep putting up new industrial product. Houston-based McNair Interests and Pontikes Development are adding two warehouses totaling more than 630,000 square feet to their 246-acre Port 10 Logistics Center. In April, Philadelphia-based BG Capital and New Jersey-based FreezPak Logistics started construction on a 281,849-square-foot cold-storage warehouse in the TGS Cedar Port Industrial Park.
The southeast was Houston’s most active submarket in the first quarter in terms of new development, with more than 7.6 million square feet of industrial projects under construction to add to its existing inventory of just under 119.6 million square feet, according to Avison Young.
Overall, developers delivered a record 6.9 million square feet of industrial space in Greater Houston in the first quarter. Even so, the vacancy rate remained flat at 5.9%, according to Avison Young, as demand for industrial space remains high.