FORT WORTH—“It's a consistent vision, a consistent master plan,” Tony Creme, VP with Hillwood, says of AllianceTexas, his company's 18,000-acre development in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. That consistency of vision has remained intact even as the master plan has been “refined' over the years from its original focus squarely on industrial into an integrated mix of uses that range from office to residential and retail.

Nonetheless, it's still quite a sizable industrial footprint within the Alliance Global Logistics Hub and elsewhere within the Alliance complex; a 500,000-square-foot UPS distribution facility that opened earlier this year is only the latest arrival. All in all, more than 32 million square feet across product types have been built within the complex to date, with some five million square feet added over the past year alone. In short, AllianceTexas is a textbook illustration of both the Metroplex's quality of life and the region's status as an industrial magnet.

A 22-year resident of Dallas and an 18-year veteran of Hillwood, Creme will speak to both the region's growth and industrial's popularity as a panelist for the consecutive RealShare Dallas/Fort Worth and RealShare Industrial conferences. The two events are scheduled for Nov. 16 and 17 at the Hilton Dallas/Plano Granite Park in Plano, TX.

As for the tie-in between AllianceTexas and logistics, Creme says the development boasts direct access to Interstate 35 as well as proximity to three other Interstates. Nearly half the US population resides within a 1,000-mile radius of the complex. It has access to two Class I rail lines, the FedEx Southwest Regional Sort Hub—and Fort Worth Alliance Airport, opened in 1989 as the world's first industrial airport, a public-private partnership between between the Federal Aviation Administration, the City of Fort Worth and Hillwood.

Given the region's standing as an inland port, it's little wonder that industrial development has come thick and fast. Over the past decade, Creme points out, the Metroplex has passed Northern New Jersey to become the nation's fourth largest industrial market, due largely to a construction pace that has taken it from more than 100 million square feet behind its East Coast rival to about 20 million square feet ahead. He acknowledges that “they probably don't have as much available land” in Northern New Jersey, which limits development.

Over the course of nearly three decades, Hillwood has been the sole developer at AllianceTexas,a complex that is now home to well over 400 tenants in voth the industrial and office sectors. ““Many of our customers find value in the single owner approach, because they know they can come to us for anything they need,” says Creme. “They know who to call; we're here onsite, and we've got a strict set of covenants and CCRs on our park, so companies that come in and want to buy land here know their investment is protected because those covenants and restrictions govern the adjacent property.”

The industrial sector has become the hottest segment in commercial real estate. How will logistics companies keep up with the market forces of omnichannel commerce? When will new supply finally catch up with demand? Who's putting investment capital into industrial and what does the future hold? Join us at RealShare Industrial on November 16 and 17 for answers to these and other questions. Learn more.

Instant Insights /

The 'Consistent Vision' Behind AllianceTexas

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