Trans-Trade's plan is to move in Sept. 1 to Duke's International Commerce Park at 1040 Trade Ave. Ken Wesson, principal of Lee & Associates DFW in Dallas, says the decision culminates nearly 18 months of searching for an expansion site. He tells GlobeSt.com that 40,000 sf of the 70,000 sf that Trans-Trade leases at Heritage Business Park in nearby Grapevine will be tossed onto the sublease market for the 18-month duration of its five-year lease. The balance will be occupied by one of its customers. Trans-Trade, a Grapevine-based, 20-year-old freight forwarder, also owns a building at 5401 Alliance Gateway in AllianceTexas that it intends to keep.

Wesson says the expansion search focused on airport or close-in airport sites, with a dozen locations pared to five for the last round. Key to the final decision was the Foreign Trade Zone status that comes with being on airport land. The 527,100-sf International Commerce Park's interior provided the necessary 15,000 sf for an office and the exterior lived up to the parking requirement for the logistics firm's 100 workers, Wesson says.

"Duke also was able to give us temporary storage space in Coppell to solve Trans-Trade's immediate needs," Wesson adds. "After working it one and a half years, the moon and the stars came into line. Now, they have operations at Alliance and DFW."

Trans-Trade's new neighbor will be Broder Bros., a Philadelphia-based designer of T-shirts and other casual wear that leased 358,000 sf last December. Duke's leasing director Jeff Thornton negotiated both leases. The spec warehouse space has been on the market for $3.15 per sf, triple net. Wesson's teammates for the talks were Lee & Associates' Georgia Rowe and former colleague, Denton Rutledge, now with Greenway Investment Co. in Dallas.