Iredell County Experiencing Strong Project and Real Estate Activity
Iredell County Economic Development Corporation’s project activity rebounded in September, with new project activity doubling over the same period in the previous year. “We have seen 75 new project inquiries since End of September. Not only are we seeing new projects, we are also seeing projects activity from clients that were looking in our market in the Q4 2019 and Q1 2020 that have come back around.” said Jenn Bosser, President & CEO, Iredell County Economic Development Corporation. “The even bigger differentiator with market activity now, is the amount of interest and competition for land acquisition, with the prospect of speculative development. Property that has been on the market for some time has gained attention, with multiple parties bidding. We are seeing this activity across Iredell County, not just in one municipality.”
Some excerpts from the article include:
Nearly 60% of all absorption last year in the Charlotte metro was in seven deals, according to a fourth-quarter market report by Foundry Commercial, illustrating how much big users are driving the market. E-commerce giants Amazon.com Inc. (NYSE: AMZN) and Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) led the way, with Walmart’s 1 million-square-foot acquisition at Troutman Industrial Park and Amazon’s 566,000-square-foot lease at WestPark 85.
At a real estate forecast event last week, Blake Silverman, president at The Silverman Group out of New Jersey, said Charlotte is starting to become a crowded market. It’s clear now more than ever that real estate investors, including institutional capital, want to plant a flag in Charlotte and other secondary markets. “We’ve never seen a land grab like this in our entire careers,” he said. “It’s starting to push our market into different submarkets … our market has become so much more dynamic and much larger from a geographic standpoint.”
“What companies are trying to accomplish is getting the product to their customers as fast as they possibly can,” Rob Speir, industrial partner at Colliers International Charlotte said,. “The whole name of the game right now is speed of delivery.”
“Manufacturing operations are a bit more complicated than, say, distribution centers, and those groups are more likely to locate in a build-to-suit facility.” said Warren Snowdon, managing director and principal at Foundry’s Charlotte office. But like any other company looking to make a real estate decision, access to labor is becoming more critical as the Charlotte region’s geographic industrial market radiates farther outward. “That’s what’s going to be driving the decision about location more than anything,” Snowdon said. “The land sites are obviously cheaper the further you go out … but it’s the human factor (that) we believe is really going to be the differentiator for those deals.”
Iredell County Economic Development Corporation is the lead organization for project activity and product development in Iredell County, Town of Troutman, Town of Mooresville, and City of Statesville. Iredell EDC will host an Investor Quarterly Meeting on February 18, to provide an update on the activities of the EDC and market trends. This meeting is a investor-only event. If you are interested learning more about becoming investor, please contact Carrie Holder, Operations Manager, carrie@iredelledc.com.
Fahey, Ashley. Amazon hunting for more real estate in Charlotte amid hot industrial market – Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com), 2021, February 2
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