CREJ

Page 34 — Office & Industrial Quarterly — June 2021 www.crej.com INDUSTRIAL — CONSTRUCTION T he industrial market is booming. Everywhere you look there’s another ware- house popping up, and it’s especially true along the Front Range in Colorado. From Colo- rado Springs to Fort Collins, there’s a fairly rapid increase in industrial builds. But where is the need com- ing from? n Population growth. Denver has been a hot spot for population growth, and as the U.S. popula- tion growth has slowed overall, Denver has seen a 17% increase in population since 2010. With its high employment growth and booming technology market, the Denver area is attracting residents from all over the country. This same population growth has helped Denver land in the top five nationally for investors, according to CBRE, which placed Denver at No. 3 on the list of locations where large investors are enthusiastic about investing. This, coupled with the steady demand for additional capacity, means the area is ripe with opportunity for new develop- ments. With this tremendous growth comes the need for improved logis- tical infrastructure for shipping and distribution. This need has fed the industrial market sector along the Front Range. In fact, 2020 saw more than 6 million square feet of construction in the area, which fol- lowed a record year in 2019. According to Lee & Associates, developers who already had a strong presence in the Front Range saw major suc- cess leasing their speculative build- ings, all while new developers entered the Denver area, making the market even more com- petitive. n COVID-19 pan- demic. The already- bustling ware- house market was given an unexpect- ed boost from the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed people online for their shopping needs. From food to retail, and from electronics to commodities, these items need a place to live before getting shipped out to the end user. And the high demand for products has led to an even higher demand for fast shipping, which means these products must be stored close to accessible transit lines. Lee & Associates reported an increase in large retailers and food manufacturers expanding to satisfy the incredible demand, a trend that is expected to continue throughout this year. The need for more supply also may increase the size of the industrial warehouses being con- structed, giving retailers and food manufacturers more space for stor- ing their products before satisfying that demand. Also likely to increase? The num- ber of big box and last-mile distri- bution facilities. Since opening its Denver office location in 2008, our firm has built more than 7.3 million sf of indus- trial warehouse projects for a vari- ety of clients, with almost 6 million sf of that built in just the last two years. Locations like Fort Collins, Long- mont, Mead, Thornton, Broomfield, Brighton, Commerce City, Aurora, Denver, Englewood, Colorado Springs and Monument are seeing robust business when it comes to industrial builds. Examples of recently completed projects that focused on prime locations include Colorado Logis- tics Park from Brennan Investment Group and Lincoln Property Co.’s Ascent Commerce Center. Mean- while, under construction projects that are further exemplifying these trends include Falcon Commerce Center in Monument, two industrial buildings from Scannell Proper- ties on Zeppelin Road in Colorado Springs and two new warehouses at 40th Avenue in Denver from Conflu- ent Development. s Industrial construction along the Front Range Dan Feagans Vice president, Brinkmann Constructors Lincoln Property Co. selected a Commerce City location for its Ascent Commerce Center because the company wanted to attract tenants whose top priority is easy access to transportation and workforce. NATIONAL REACH, LOCAL RESULTS. 303-657-9700