Waller Industrial Park Ticks Many User Boxes

WALLER, TX— Continued job and population growth, a growing e-commerce enterprise, and heightened activity in the Port of Houston are driving demand for industrial space across the Houston metro, according to a second quarter report by CBRE. This demand is specifically evident in tenant movement throughout the metro.

NRG Manufacturing Inc., a division of AFGlobal Corporation, has chosen Waller Industrial Park for its new manufacturing, testing and regional office, according to Archway Properties. Waller Industrial Park benefits from its proximity to US Highway 290 and the fast growing northwest quadrant of Houston. It currently has shovel-ready sites ranging from 1 acre to 16 acres available for design-build or build-to-suit projects.

As part of the relocation, NRG and Archway are renovating an existing 144,500-square-foot manufacturing, warehouse and office facility located on 14.6 acres. Additionally, Archway is building a component manufacturing and separate test facility totaling 94,400 square feet on the adjacent 16 acres.

This new campus allows NRG to consolidate from a number of other facilities while providing expansion of its production of new products. Construction is underway and scheduled for completion in November 2019.

Don Dennis and Ben Allen with Archway Advisors represented the landlord in the lease transaction.  Jason Smith with Archway Advisors is leading the development team, which includes ARCO Design/Build Southwest and Method Architecture as key members. John Isom, executive director of Waller EDC, was instrumental in assisting with incentives and articulating the advantages of locating to Waller.

“NRG/AFG chose the location because of the cost per square foot, acreage available to expand, size of the building and property, crane-served space, ease of working with Waller, the EDC incentives, access to labor pool as there is no other industry present, the Waller CTE program, and access to major highway routes that are easy to ingress and egress with large equipment,” Smith tells GlobeSt.com. “From our standpoint, the property is conveniently located inside Waller County allowing easy access to US Highway 290.”

Water and sanitary sewer are supplied by city of Waller, telecom is provided by AT&T, heavy power on property (480/3 phase/1,600 AMPS) is provided by Centerpoint, and natural gas is provided by Centerpoint, according to Smith.

Archway first became involved with the Waller Industrial Park in 2013 with the acquisition of land and a build-to-suit for Premier Coil Solutions, a manufacturer of high specification coil equipment. Other owners and tenants in the park include Cameron International, FC-PRO, a division of Florida Chemical; and Alpha Foods Co.

“It is exciting for us to continue to attract quality companies who recognize the value of operating in Waller,” says Allen. “The access to quality labor, the ease of ingress and egress, and the availability of utilities are all a big advantage.”

Industrial absorption climbed out of negative territory and into a more familiar place during second quarter, with a strong 2.9 million square feet of industrial space absorbed, according to a report by CBRE. Vacancy jumped 10 basis points to 5.5%.

Record-breaking under construction totals were reported last quarter, with 20.5 million square feet of industrial product currently under construction being the highest quarterly number ever recorded by CBRE research. Specifically, 11.2 million square feet of new industrial product broke ground last quarter, which brings the year-to-date total up to a solid 13.6 million square feet.