Trammell Crow, AMB Team on 156,000-SF CargoCentre

The Houston International Air CargoCentre will be a 156,000-sf concrete tilt-up, one story structure positioned 8.4 acres. It is one of four facilities planned for the new east cargo area.

"Trammell Crow began working on this project in 1997. At the time, Houston was really in a difficult situation. They knew they needed additional cargo space and didn't have the necessary sites to accommodate expansion and growth," said Steven Bradford, principal of Trammell Crow's airport facilities development team. He says the airport, Trammell Crow and two other developers provided airside infrastructure, taxiways and lanes as well as roads, utilities and site clearing. "We have entered into a long-term land lease to develop a state-of-the-art facility," he said.

When completed in October, the facility will have 37-foot clearances and a football field-size interior measuring 125 feet by 870 feet. The facility will have a rear-parking area for 12 wide-body aircraft and a front dock that can accommodate up to 50 tractor-trailers. It is designed to handle main-deck, wide-body aircraft freighters and integrated carriers. Currently, Trammell Crow is finalizing a deal for the lease of 50% of the building to a parcel carrier, Bradford said.

"This high-throughput facility reflects the new realities of today's freight transportation, where speed, not storage, is crucial for shippers and customers," said John Meyer, AMB's vice president of its airport development team.

In concert with the construction, the airport project calls for the demolition of about 550,000 sf of existing cargo space in eight buildings. Houston's airport is ranked 17 internationally, boasting an annual pass-through of some 35 million passengers. From the cargo standpoint, it is ranked 47.

Going in Houston's favor, said Meyer, is its low cost of doing business, access to a large distribution network and the NAFTA highway plus ability to move product into Mexico. The project, in essence, falls into AMB's strategy targeting large gateway airports, Meyer explained. In concert with the construction, the airport project calls for the demolition of about 550,000 sf of existing cargo space in eight buildings.