Blackstone Acquires 1.4M SF DFW Warehouse Portfolio As Manufacturing Moves Closer To Home

Blackstone is literally doubling down on its industrial presence in Dallas-Fort Worth with the acquisition of a 1.4M SF warehouse portfolio as it seeks to reap the rewards of the nearshoring trend.

The portfolio, which it acquired from Stockbridge, includes nine Class-A facilities in several prominent submarkets, including near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Arlington and Mesquite. The portfolio will be managed by Link Logistics, a Blackstone subsidiary established in 2019.

“The warehouse sector in particular is benefitting from the onshoring of manufacturing,” Blackstone Head of Real Estate Americas Nadeem Meghji said in a statement.

“Since we’re big believers in North Texas due to its highly competitive business climate and strong demographic growth, our purchase of this high-quality, last-mile portfolio illustrates our continued conviction of the market.”

The explosion of DFW’s industrial market over the past several years has been in part thanks to companies bringing their manufacturing operations back to the U.S. or to neighboring countries like Mexico. 

Manufacturing hires were at the highest rate ever recorded in 2022, with more than 360,000 job announcements, up 53% from 2021, according to a report by the Reshoring Initiative. The trend was driven mostly by the increase in electric vehicle and chip manufacturing, the report says.

Blackstone is capitalizing on the surge in demand for industrial real estate by expanding its portfolio in DFW and beyond. With the latest acquisition, the firm has acquired more than 3M SF of warehouses in North Texas valued at around $360M so far this year, according to a news release.