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Jennings Crossing
Oct 4th, 2010Business First
Business First of Louisville -January 21, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
$25 million industrial complex under construction
Business First of Louisville - by Ben Adkins Business First Staff Writer
A new industrial complex will bring more logistics and bulk warehouse space to Louisville's South End.
Jennings Crossing, at 4250 Produce Road, will consist of four buildings totaling 455,000 square feet. The development is expected to cost $25 million.
Construction is under way for the first of those buildings, a 207,000-square-foot facility that is expected to be complete in the third quarter, said Duane Realty Inc. President Bob Duane, one of the project's developers.
Buildings will vary in size
Jennings Crossing has drawn attention from prospective tenants, Duane said, though none have been signed.
"There is some good interest," he said. "It's just whether completion and timing is going to work out for their needs."
The first building will be the largest. Building two will have about 173,000 square feet, building three is planned be about 25,000 square
feet, and building four will have about 53,000 square feet.
Building one will be leased in minimum sections of 50,000 square feet, Duane said. As each building reaches 70 percent capacity, construction will begin on the next.
Developers taking measures to save energy
Builders will incorporate several energy-saving mechanisms into construction for Jennings Crossing, Duane said.
Developers have opted to use T8 fluorescent light fixtures with motion sensors, meaning lights would come on as needed --when a forklift enters a bay, for example -- rather than stay on continuously.
Ceilings will be 28 feet in height, rather than the 32-foot ceilings found in some similar properties, Duane said. Insulated roofing and
walls also will help save energy, he said.
Duane expects the measures to be key in marketing the property, "especially if energy costs continue to rise, which everybody thinks they will."
Phil Charmoli, senior industrial broker for Commercial Kentucky Inc., said such measures are becoming somewhat more common.
"Any measures a developer can take to cut costs in a building for their prospective clients is helpful," he said.
UPS, airport still a draw for distribution
Duane feels that the market for speculative distribution and warehouse space is "OK" at the moment.
"You're going into an uncertain year," he said. "There are pockets of this business that are doing real well right now, and there are others that aren't doing as well."
Still, cities such as Louisville and Memphis are good places to be, he said, adding that major Ford Motor Co. and United Parcel Service Inc. operations in Louisville, and FedEx Corp. operations in Memphis, should continue to be a draw for regional distributors.
But he noted that local industry could also be a valuable tenant source.
"It's not all just regional distribution that you're looking for," he said. "The market's broader than that."
Duane also expects that nearby Louisville International Airport and easy access to Interstate 65 should be attractive for potential tenants.
Charmoli said he believes the area "will always be of interest to local industrial businesses because of its central location and access to several interstates and the airport."
"And the fact that there's not much ground left over there bodes well for any development being able to come out of the ground in that area," he said.
Duane agrees. "We feel real comfortable with our location," he said, "and it's just a matter of time before we find a fit for it."
Mid Logistics Center leasing quicker than expected
Leasing is moving faster than expected for another distribution center developed by Duane Realty Inc.
Mid Logistics Center is located at Shepherdsville and Rangeland roads, just west of General Electric Co.'s Appliance Park.
Construction began in late 2006 on the first of the center's two 63,000-square-foot buildings. A second was planned to be built as leasing
activity demanded.
It didn't take long. Construction began on the second building in March 2007, and both buildings are up and nearly full, said Bob Duane, president of Duane Realty Inc., which also serves as leasing agent for the property.
One of the buildings is occupied entirely by logistics company Mid Inc.
Two tenants, Wen-Parker Logistics Inc. and Empire Today LLC, are in the second building, Duane said, and a third, Total Filtration Services Inc., is scheduled to move in on Feb. 1. The developers initially had expected both buildings to be fully occupied by mid-2008, he said, but the building already has signed tenants for 90 percent of the overall space.
Only 12,500 square feet of warehousing space remains available.
"We're tickled to death with the leasing," he said. "It's a good eight months ahead of schedule."
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