Growing international trade spurs Class ‘A’ warehouse development

Joint venture partners Childress Klein Properties and Denver-based Amstar Group are moving forward with plans to develop nearly a million square feet of Class “A” warehouse/distribution space on the Charleston Regional Business Center’s final 55 interior acres, said Tricia Noble, a partner with Childress Klein, a real estate development company with offices in Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C.

The partnership completed the acquisition of the four parcels from The Beach Co., the business center’s developer.

“The growth of international commerce and increasing import activity through the Port of Charleston have fostered a growing demand for distribution center space within close proximity to Charleston’s port terminals,” Noble said.

“Childress Klein and Amstar Group saw an opportunity to capitalize on this growing demand by acquiring the last sizable parcels of prime land at this strategically located project and moving forward immediately on this new development. With a lack of large, contiguous blocks of Class ‘A’ warehouse space this close to the shipping terminals and an increased user demand in the entire Charleston market over the past 18 months, we are confident that this location will be an extremely popular option with logistics operators when complete in late 2007.”

Located on Clements Ferry Road in Charleston’s Cainhoy Peninsula, the project sites are positioned to take advantage of the robust growth that the city’s port facilities are experiencing. Recent brokerage reports at mid-year 2006 put the vacancy rate of similar quality distribution space in comparable submarkets at under 10%, and availability has continued to tighten as new construction has failed to keep up with increasing space demands, Noble said.

Totaling 889,000 square feet, the four buildings planned for the site will feature modern design formats supporting strategic inbound and outbound logistics and distribution operations. Design plans call for creating superior, modern facilities that will include expansive truck courts with on-site trailer parking, cross dock, front load, and/or rear load formats and 24-foot to 30-foot clear heights. The buildings will also capitalize on their close proximity and short drive times to Charleston’s key port terminals, interstate freeway access, a location within the first drayage zone and the site’s Foreign Trade Zone status when attracting tenants.

Individual buildings specifications call for:

Building One: 351,000 square feet, expandable to 700,000 square feet
Building Two: 351,000 square feet
Building Three: 112,000 square feet
Building/Site Four: Approximately 9.4 acres; 75,000 square feet build-to-suit lease or sale