McALLEN, TX-In a merchant-build test drive, Wilcox Development Services is pushing dirt on eight acres in the McAllen Industrial Park along the US-Mexico border. The 171,200-sf spec distribution center will deliver in April 2007.
"We're going to stick our toe in the market and see how it goes," Todd K. Ashbrook, COO for Dallas-based Cawley Wilcox Cos., tells GlobeSt.com. The development group has hired one-time Dallas broker, Lamar Lawson, who now owns a firm in the border city, to lease Wilcox Trade Center, now rising at 5801 S. Ware Rd.
Ashbrook says the project, designed by Mark Pross of Dallas, has been on the "to do" list nearly nine months. The all-in development cost is more than $7 million.
The strategy is to provide distribution space for smaller tenants in a large-user market, according to Ashbrook. "There are a lot of people out there who need 80,000, 100,000 or 200,000 sf," he says. And if he's on target, he says it could be fully leased within six months. The space is being marketed at $4.26 per sf net.
Ashbrook says the leasing climate along the border tends to be relatively fast paced, driven by tenants with immediate space needs. "They always want it filled right away, like yesterday," he says. "Because of this market's consistency, we felt that it was the perfect time to introduce a distribution center of this size."
Ashbrook says a 275,000-sf to 300,000-sf building could be the follow-up play, but a site acquisition and construction start hinge on the test drive. "I anticipate we'll be doing more down there," he says.
Ashbrook says the team closely looked at the pros and cons of border construction. "There are many companies manufacturing on the Mexican side and they need a distribution outlet on the US side, fence or no fence," he says.
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