"We are hoping to absorb between four and five million sf this year," Beau Kaleel of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. tells GlobeSt.com. Certainly, hopes also were high for 2001, but the full year brought just 1.3 million sf of absorption. In comparison, the region absorbed 5.3 million sf in 2000.

Kaleel sides with others in the market in placing the blame on Compaq vendors hurt by the HP merger, over building, 9/11 and Enron debacle, although he's quick to point out that Enron had a minor role at best. Consequently, many projects were tabled and lease negotiations and stopped until the first quarter when a new enthusiasm and patriotism got people moving again, he says.

The high absorption really is due to three large leases. Goodman Manufacturing took 400,000 sf in the northwest submarket; Gulf Winds International signed for 345,000 sf in the southern corridor; and Exel Logistics reserved 281,000 sf in the southeast.

Kaleel clearly is a champion of the Deer Park/Pasadena area and its strong growth potential. With vacancy rates below 5%, the market clearly has room to build. "If I had money to be a developer," he says, "I'd build as many 20,000-sf metal buildings with brick office facades, overheads cranes and outside storage as possible. And by the time construction was finished, they would all be leased." There currently is about 18 million sf on the ground in that area.