While many industrial developers are held back by difficulty securing financing, high interest rates and inflated construction costs, Vigavi and joint venture partner Principal Asset Management are forging ahead on a speculative industrial development.
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Houston-based real estate developer Vigavi and investment company Principal Asset Management broke ground this month on WestPoint 45, a 728K SF industrial building in northwest Houston.
The project comes as the market slumps overall. Industrial construction starts in Houston have “fallen off a cliff,” and just 985K SF broke ground in the first quarter, well below the pre-pandemic average of 4.2M SF per quarter, according to a report from Avison Young.
About 13.7M SF under construction remains as of Q1, the lowest point since 2016, the Avison Young report says.
Around 200K SF of what is under construction is expected to be delivered in early 2025, according to a Q1 JLL report. But Vigavi and Principal Asset Management’s project will more than quadruple that number, with its delivery date set for that same quarter, the news release says.
The project is on a 42-acre site at 410 West Road, near the intersection of Interstate 45 and Beltway 8.
“We are excited to kick off this large-scale development in a premier infill location at a time when we’re seeing robust demand from occupiers in the market and protracted new development starts due to volatility in the capital markets over the past 24 months,” Vigavi principal and Managing Director Dustin Gillioz said in the release.
The joint venture acquired the land from a national radio broadcasting company, which recently relocated its local broadcasting operations in Houston, the release says. The building will feature 40-foot clear heights, 180 trailer stalls, spec office space, LED warehouse lighting and dock levelers.
Marketing and leasing efforts for WestPoint 45 will be led by Richard Quarles, Mark Nicholas and Joseph Berwick at JLL. Angler Construction is the general contractor, Seeberger Architecture is the lead architect, and Langan Engineering is the project’s civil engineer.
