DFW to ATX to HOU: Industrial markets flourish across Texas

Texas’ industrial sector is experiencing a sustained boom, with major cities like Dallas, Austin and Houston all witnessing significant growth. The Lone Star State’s individual markets paint a picture of vibrancy, innovation and expansion.
Dallas industrial sector is ‘incredibly blessed’ “I know it sounds like a cliché we hear over and over, but the DFW area is so much healthier and has so much more activity than almost every market in the country,” said Allen Gump, executive vice president at Colliers DallasFort Worth. “We are all incredibly blessed to be in a market that is this vibrant with the best real estate community of any in the world.” He attributed the vibrant market to a robust developer community, strong investor interest and record leasing activity.
“For the last several years there has been a great deal of money looking for great places to invest,” Gump said. “And since we were having record leasing and net absorption, that led to more projects coming to fruition. Depending on the submarket you’re looking at, developers are being more prudent and rather than building spec, they’re waiting for the tenants. So this will slow down the amount of speculative building for the time being.”
When selecting locations and project types, factors like competition, leasing trends, labor pools and highway access are crucial, Gump stressed. Project size alignment with market demand and profitability against construction costs are also vital considerations. “It’s important to know that if you’re going to build a 1 million square foot building, how many others are built or under construction vs. 1 million square foot deals in the market?” Gump said. “Sometimes it’s better to be ‘pad-ready’ and wait for the tenant to surface.”
The Texas CHIPS Act, which incentivizes semiconductor development, is impacting the Dallas market. The legislation not only stimulates chip production but also drives demand for ancillary industrial facilities from suppliers, further amplifying activity. “It truly has a multiplying effect on industrial demand even if these plants are being built by the companies that are going to occupy,” Gump said.
While he anticipated a natural slowdown in demand after years of rapid growth, Gump saw this as a temporary adjustment.

CBRE announces two executive vice president promotions in San Antonio

San Antonio, TX – CBRE is proud to announce the promotions of Rob Burlingameand Josh Aguilar to Executive Vice President. The team has worked together since 2012 within CBRE San Antonio’s Industrial & Logistics Group. 

“CBRE relies upon the tremendous talents of its professionals to drive our mission of delivering superior real estate outcomes for our clients and customers. Rob and Josh have demonstrated their talents day in and day out and have consistently proven themselves as market leaders in the Central and South Texas markets,” said John Moake, Managing Director of CBRE’s San Antonio office. “The title of Executive Vice President is well-earned for both of them.”

Both Rob and Josh specialize in representing tenant and landlord industrial clients in Central and South Texas. Combining their decades of experience and deep industry knowledge, both men have excelled in guiding clients through whatever real estate services they need, including but not limited to, lease negotiations, space procurement, relocation management, real estate portfolio evaluation, and asset disposition. Their client list is long and includes everyone from local firms to Fortune 500 companies. 

Rob Burlingame joined CBRE in 2001 and has spent his entire career with the organization. He holds many prestigious industry designations, including SIOR and CCIM. Josh Aguilar joined CBRE in 2012 and also SIOR-designated. Combined, Rob and Josh have completed numerous transactions totaling more than $2.5 billion.

JLL Capital Markets adds to industrial sales team in Austin, San Antonio offices

 JLL Capital Markets announced that Witt Westbrook and Kyle Mueller have joined its Industrial Investment Sales and Advisory team as Senior Directors focusing on the Central Texas region and broader Texas markets.

Westbrook joins the Austin office and Mueller sits in the San Antonio office. Both Senior Directors will report directly to Senior Managing Directors Doug Opalka and Robert Wooten.

Westbrook brings five years of industry experience, most recently serving as Managing Director at Transwestern. Mueller has been with JLL for over eight years and moved over from the Industrial leasing team to join Capital Markets.

JLL’s Industrial group co-lead and Senior Managing Director Trent Agnew sits in the firm’s Houston office and will provide oversight and leadership alongside Wooten and Opalka for this expansion of “Team Texas” in Austin and San Antonio.

JLL names senior managing director for Houston industrial brokerage team

JLL has promoted Richard Quarles to senior managing director. He will lead the Houston Industrial Agency Leasing brokerage team.

Under his leadership, the team of seven brokers specializing in landlord representation has achieved impressive results, including leasing over 8 million square feet and closing more than 110 transactions. His strategic vision and effective leadership skills will be instrumental in driving further growth and expansion for the team and the overall business.

As Senior Managing Director, Quarles will continue reporting to Jeff Venghaus, Executive Managing Director and team leader of JLL Houston’s industrial services group.

Throughout his career, Quarles has consistently earned accolades as one of the top-producing industrial brokers, garnering recognition from both JLL and NAIOP. Additionally, he serves as a board member of the Society of Industrial/Office Realtors (SIOR).

KAI 360 Construction Services names senior project manager in Dallas-Fort Worth office

KAI 360 Construction Services hired Kristopher McGraw as Senior Project Manager at its Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, office.

In his new role, McGraw will play a pivotal role in overseeing building design and construction program management initiatives and ensuring the seamless execution of projects from inception to completion while upholding the highest standards of quality, innovation and client satisfaction.

A project manager to his core, McGraw is interested in how people work and succeed, and he believes architecture is about meaningfully serving clients and the community while striving to be sensitive to the environment and creating lasting experiences.

McGraw is a results-oriented manager with more than 20 years of experience. His skill set has enabled him to successfully engage in projects across various market sectors including education, aviation and civic.

Prior to KAI, McGraw worked for nearly two decades as a Project Manager at Houston, TX-based HarrisonKornberg Architects, most recently managing the firm’s North Texas portfolio. Some of the notable projects he worked on include the Houston Parks and Recreation Department Headquarters, the new STEM Building at the University of North Texas at Dallas, the new Archives and Research Center at Texas State University, the City of Fort Worth’s new Community Center & Aquatics Center, the new Heritage Hall at Texas A&M University’s Central Texas campus, and the new National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing at Texas A&M University’s main campus in College Station, TX.

In 2019, as part of the design team on the Zachry Engineering Education Complex, the largest academic building on the Texas A&M University campus, McGraw and the project team received a Building Design + Construction Gold Reconstruction Award. The project also received a Gold Award and Eminent Conceptor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies. McGraw holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Houston, and he is a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society. He is a past member of the Board of Directors for AIA Houston, a Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Managing principal of North American Data Centers lands top industrial investment transaction as ranked by SIOR

The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors has released its list of top transactions completed by its members. Jim Kerrigan, Managing Principal of North American Data Centers in Chicago, was recognized as the number-one industrial and industrial investment transaction for a $278 million portfolio transaction in Northern Virginia.

In 2023, Kerrigan completed a portfolio of five complicated single-tenant net-lease transactions in power-based buildings that involved a Fortune 50 firm. The building sizes averaged more than 200,000 square feet and totaled 1.1 million square feet of building area in power base shells.

Kerrigan has focused exclusively on helping companies solve their data center challenges for more than 25 years. He provides a comprehensive suite of services that encompass his clients’ operational and financial needs with the goal of improving the overall economics of each transaction.

Over the past five years, Kerrigan has represented buyers and sellers in transactions totaling more than 4 million square feet of data center space and sales of more than $1.2 BN NNN single tenant properties. His position as a specialist and trusted advisor within the cloud-based, data center space is further demonstrated by being recognized by SIOR as completing the largest dollar volume transaction in the Industrial and investment sectors in 2016 and 2019. In 2022 he was the runner up in both those categories. He believes that success is unprecedented.