GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: ProLogis Jumpstarts 1.48 Mil-SF Park

Upon completion, the ProLogis Park Pharr Bridge will push the Denver-based developer's maquiladora holdings to nearly three million sf. ProLogis has another one million sf in the Pharr Bridge submarket plus a half million sf in the nearby Del Norte Industrial Park.Robert T. Huthnance Jr., ProLogis vice president, confides to GlobeSt.com that another one million sf is on the drawing boards for an as-yet unpicked site in Reynosa. The developments will hold ProLogis' attention in the region for the next three to four years, he says.

The ProLogis Park Pharr Bridge acreage can house up to 14 buildings, each ranging from about 100,000 sf to 150,000 sf. Huthnance says final park configuration purely will evolve through client needs and development flexibility.

Huthnance says ProLogis will be working on the infrastructure until late October. In the interim, he will be searching the market for build-to-suit tenants. He says none of the buildings will be speculative and the market will dictate what is built on the property.

ProLogis began developing maquiladora space in 1997. Huthnance began working in the region in 2000. There are currently 70,000 people working in 175 maquiladoras operating in 10 industrial parks in Reynosa. ProLogis' tenants include such heavy-weight names as Whirlpool, General Electric, Bissell, Nokia and Siemens.

According to a 1997 Perryman Group study, the McAllen-Reynosa maquiladora trade contributes nearly $10 billion annually to the local economy. The maquiladoras alone generate $1.7 billion of manufactured goods annually primarily for the automotive, high-tech and textile industries.

Huthnance says the region's market slowed somewhat between January and June, but activity has picked up for maquiladoras, particularly those related to household goods. Technology and automotive products have remained somewhat sluggish, he says.