Developing in Heavy Industrial Pocket Pays Off
Intrepid Business Park is a case study for the success of redevelopment within an area of Houston that has severe land constraints, commanding premium rental rates, says HFF’s Trent Agnew.
HOUSTON—Because of a developer/owner’s foresight in developing class-A product within a heavy manufacturing pocket, Intrepid Business Park has attractive rental rates. A buyer found this and the well-conceived site plan, building specs and proximity to Beltway 8 enough to say yes to the property.
The two-building class-A industrial project totaling 270,750 square feet was recently sold by Triten Real Estate Partners. The buyer and price were undisclosed.
Intrepid Business Park is located on 17.13 acres at 5737 and 5747 Brittmoore Rd. in the Northwest industrial submarket. The park is one block west of Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tollway), two miles south of US Highway 290 and 5 miles north of Interstate 10, all major Houston thoroughfares that provide critical access points to Houston and regional markets.
HFF’s investment advisory team representing the seller included senior managing directors Trent Agnew and Rusty Tamlyn as well as analyst Dane Petersen.
“Intrepid Business Park is a case study for the success of redevelopment within an area of Houston that has severe land constraints,” observes Agnew. “Triten Real Estate Partners had the foresight to develop new class-A product within a pocket that was previously heavy manufacturing in nature and has proven to command premium rental rates due to the well-conceived site plan, modern building specs and proximity to Beltway 8.”
Developed between 2014 and 2015, Intrepid Business Park features 30-foot clear heights in both buildings, a total of 58 dock-high doors and 14.3% total office finish. The property is home to five tenants.
“The Northwest submarket continues to be the most preferred from institutional investors due to historical occupancy, absorption, rent growth, etc.,” Agnew tells GlobeSt.com. “It is thought of as the submarket having the highest barriers to entry on new supply. Most is pushing farther out 290 towards the Grand Parkway or up around 249. Leasing activity has been lighter in the traditional sweet spot of 50,000- to 100,000-square-foot users here recently, but smaller tenants have been active.”
Agnew says there is a reason for the larger tenant activity in the last few years.
“There is an overall Houston trend where tenants are getting larger due to e-commerce and population growth,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “Another wave of development is coming but the submarket has proved resilient to new supply in the last couple of development cycles.”