Construction of industrial space continues robust growth

Construction and development of new industrial space in the U.S. remains robust, with all signs pointing to another big year in this market segment.

According to a report by CommmercialEdge, 592.5 million square feet of industrial space was under construction nationwide by the end of February, amounting to 3.5% of existing stock. Over the past six months, the amount of industrial space grew by more than 90 million sf.

About 626 million sf of new development was in the planning stages, CommmercialEdge reported. Rising rents have supported this action. The national average for in-place industrial rents across the top 30 U.S. markets reached $6.45 per sf in February, marking a 4.4% year-over-year increase.

The rest of 2022 continues to look strong in the industrial space. Nationally, transactions totaled nearly $9.1 billion in the first two months of the year. “This strong start is a clear indication that investor interest in industrial properties is anything but abating, given that the first quarter of a year is typically the slowest for commercial real estate transactions,” CommmercialEdge says.

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.