Houston to gain new multimodal distribution facility

Pontikes Development is breaking ground on a 3 million-square-foot distribution center near Port Houston at a time when available industrial and retail space in the region is in high demand.    Pontikes Development is breaking ground on a 3 million-square-foot distribution center near Port Houston capable of transporting cargo by rail, ship, barge and truck.
   According to local news source the Houston Chronicle, companies using the facility will be able to distribute goods from plastic pellets to finished retail goods through Port Houston and reach nearly half of Texas within a four-hour drive.Eight buildings and 246 acres will be developed, with the first phase including two cross-dock buildings of 485,000 and 295,000 square feet, slated for completion in the third quarter of 2018. 
   Dubbed the Port 10 Logistics Center, roughly two-thirds of the project will be rail-served, according to JLL, which is marketing the project for the developer, said the Houston Chronicle. The park will include on-site storage for about 450 railcars, trailer storage, and it will offer direct access to Union Pacific’s Coady rail yard.
   “We’re going to be able to transfer cargo by truck, ship, rail and barge,” said JLL broker John Talhelm. Pontikes is breaking ground before securing tenants, which Talhelm said is not unusual for industrial projects. The vacancy rate for industrial buildings in the southeast Houston region is 4.7 percent, noted the Houston Chronicle.
   Houston’s available industrial and retail space has mostly filled since Hurricane Harvey, as companies attempt to meet high demands for supplies and distribution for rebuilding.