How hot is the Louisville industrial market? In the fourth quarter of last year the sector’s vacancy rate fell to 3.3 percent, according to the latest Louisville industrial report from CBRE.
This isn’t a surprise to anyone who’s been following Louisvile’s industrial market. There isn’t enough industrial space today to satisfy demand. It’s why spec industrial building has become so common in the Louisville market.
According to CBRE, the fourth quarter of 2013 ended with 216,675 square feet of positive industrial absorption.
There were plenty of big transactions in the quarter. Justfab.com expanded into 406,000 square feet of new speculative construction on National Turnpike in the Southside/Airport submarket. Publishers Printing purchased a 103,000-square-foot building on Highway 44 in the Bullit County submarket.
Biggest of the quarter, though, was the four-building purchase by Clarion from Dixie Properties on National Turnpike in the Southside/Airport submarket. That transaction totaled more than 500,000 square feet.
For all of 2013, the Louisville industrial market saw more than 2 million square feet of absorption.
The quarter also saw some major industrial construction projects wrap up. The River Ridge park in the Southern Indiana submarket saw a 150,000-square-foot spec building developed by America Place and a 107,500-square-foot owner-occupied building for Catamaran both finish construction.
The American Bottling Company completed a 110,000-square-foot build-to-suit at the Kenwood Business Center, while Ground Freight Expeditors completed a 56,000-square-foot owner-occupied building at the Renaissance Zone.
The good news? Louisville’s industrial market seems poised for even more activity in 2014. And that activity should provide a boost to the region’s other market sectors, too.
