HOUSTON- Panattoni Development Co.’s Airtex Industrial Center, a 486,720-square-foot speculative industrial facility, has reached 100% occupancy in less than 12 months.

The developer filled the last vacant space by signing a three-year lease with Furniture Brands Inc., according to Don Dennis, senior vice president for Panattoni's Texas operation. The wholesale furniture importer will occupy 109,386 square feet in the class A project, which is located at 14810 North Fwy.

“We delivered this building spec last August – the worst time to do something like that since the 1980s – and we have been able to lease it 100%,” Dennis tells GlobeSt.com. “It has been well received by the marketplace at very good rates.” In addition to Furniture Brands, Airtex Industrial houses Ashley Furniture’s distribution center and Velocity Acquisitions, a third-party logistics provider.

Furniture Brands’ lease at Airtex Industrial Center marks the company’s second Houston location. It occupies another 150,000 square feet nearby.

The company, which sells furniture to consumer retail outlets, needed more room for its inventory as its business has grown. “They had no room to grow in their existing location, so they had to look for more space,” Dennis says.

Furniture Brands wanted to expand into space that was close to its existing warehouse. Moreover, the company wanted a location with access to I-45, which is a free thoroughfare, rather than a facility situated along the Sam Houston Tollway.  

Patrick Rollins and Joseph Smith of CBRE represented Furniture Brands Inc. Gary Mabray and Walker Barnett of Colliers Internationals’ local office represented Panattoni.