DHL Leasing 74,800-SF Facility From ProLogis

DHL is leasing the facility from ProLogis, which is based here and is the largest industrial REIT in the world. Indeed, DHL leases three million sf from ProLogis in North America, Europe and Asia, making it one of its five largest customers.

Wayne Barrett, a vice president at ProLogis who heads the Denver-areaoperation, says DHL liked the location of the building in Gateway, a development near Denver International Airport. "It's two blocks off Interstate 70, and a block off Airport Boulevard, which is just off Pena Boulevard," the road that people take to DIA, he tells GlobeSt.com. The building is visible from I-70, he adds.

"In addition to the location, they really liked the design of the building," Barrett says. "It really works for them from an operational standpoint. It is a cross-dock building. That is, it has docks on two sides of the building. It attracted them because on one side they can bring product and packages in and they can deliver them out the other side. We've added 15 dock doors to the property. They have 35 dock doors in 74,800 sf. It really works for them."

The building was constructed in the mid-1980s and ProLogis has owned it since 1994. The space had been occupied by North American Van Lines, which moved into a new building at Stapleton. It's been vacant for about six months, Barrett says.

The center initially will create 26 new jobs, paying starting wages of $12 to $13 per hour. The express delivery company may hire more people during the holiday season. The new facility will have an annual economic impact on the area of about $500,000 in payroll taxes, property taxes, sales taxes on equipment purchases and other local taxes.

The deal is a small part of a $1.2-billion North America expansion the company unveiled in June. The company says it received no incentives to open the facility.