Columbus-area industrial development off to big start in 2021
Jim Weiker
Two new industrial buildings in New Albany have been leased before being finished, illustrating what is expected to be a banner year in central Ohio industrial development.
VanTrust Real Estate, based in Kansas City, Missouri, said it has leased the entire 234,000-square-foot "Innovation II" building in New Albany International Business Park, just after breaking ground on the building.
VanTrust leased the building to Rieke, part of TriMas of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, which designs and manufactures packaging and dispensers for consumer products.
"We believe central Ohio is an ideal location to help us continue to meet our customers’ needs,” Ed Allen, corporate manufacturing director of Rieke, said in a news release.
The announcement follows VanTrust's leasing of much of the first Innovation building, 253,000 square feet, to Voyant Beauty and a plastics manufacturer. VanTrust also developed a 302,000-square-foot distribution center in the park leased last year by pharmaceutical company Hims & Hers.
VanTrust is planning another 315,000-square-foot building in the park, off Beech Road north of Route 161, as well as a 1-million-square-foot industrial building near Rickenbacker International Airport.
Phil Rasey, vice president of development at VanTrust, said demand is high for central Ohio industrial and distribution space.
"It's very strong across a lot of different sectors – ecommerce, manufacturing – just a lot of demand, although it's getting harder to find land ready to develop," he said.
VanTrust's announcements come as a new report forecasts that central Ohio will add 8.9 million square feet of industrial space this year, up from 6.5 million square feet in 2020.
The report, by CommercialSearch, anticipates 18 major industrial projects to rise in the Columbus area this year, led by the 1.6-million-square-foot Hub on London-Groveport Road being developed by Xebec, based in Dallas.
Central Ohio's construction is part of an anticipated 342 million square feet of industrial space expected to be built this year in the U.S., up from 276 million square feet last year and a five-year high, according to the report.
The Columbus area is forecast to be the 12th-most-active area in the country for industrial construction this year, just behind Indianapolis and ahead of Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The Dallas area is expected to build the most industrial space in the country this year, with 28 million square feet of new construction.
Amazon is expected to occupy eight of this year’s 10 biggest industrial projects, according to the CommercialSearch report.
jweiker@dispatch.com
@JimWeiker