ComSec Signs for 37,000 SF at Airport

The company signed a five-year lease for the facility, which is part of the three-building, 285,000-square-foot master-planned Air Freight & Logistics Centre developed by partners Trammell Crow Co. and ING Clarion Partners. Jason Watson, vice president of business operations for ComSec International says the space was ideal because of its proximity to DFW's Air Operations Area tarmac.

"We did look at several different facilities in the area before deciding on this one," Watson explains. "Trammell Crow was the one most willing to work with us as a new business." ComSec was founded in response to a congressional mandate stating that all cargo bound for transport on passenger aircraft must be screened under the Transportation Security Administration's Certified Cargo Screening Program. The mandate goes into effect by August 2010.

Trammel Crow managing director Steven Bradford tells GlobeSt.com that the 2010 mandate was the reason why the Air Freight & Logistics Centre was designed the way it was. "This is what the logistics center was designed for," says Bradford, who brokered the ComSec lease with help from TCC senior associate Steve Koldyke. "We knew the day would come when all cargo, whether on a passenger plane or freight plane, would have to be screened. It doesn't make sense to screen cargo at a facility miles away from the plane. That's why we put this adjacent to the cargo hub at DFW." Bradford says the ComSec lease brings the center up to 100% occupancy.

The DFW location is ComSec's second location; the company has operations in San Francisco, CA. Watson explains the company's ultimate goal is to take the concept to other airports nationwide. As the guidelines for cargo screening becomes more stringent, he explains, the demand for ComSec's services will increase.