The majority of the industrial development in Charlotte, North Carolina, is taking place southwest and northwest of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport along the I-485 corridor, according to Lane Holbert, senior industrial specialist with Grubb & Ellis/Bissell Patrick in Charlotte. "This area offers the majority of the remaining vacant land in Mecklenburg County that can be rezoned to industrial," he says. "It is near the interstates, and the future intermodal facility that will be built on the southwest side of the airport."

This area, the I-485/I-85/Airport corridor, is the submarket to watch in the near future because new distribution space is going up in this market, close to the airport and the nearby Gaston County labor pool, Holbert explains. Aside from the I-485 corridor, Holbert predicts the lack of vacant industrial land in Mecklenburg County and the difficulty in rezoning land to industrial will cause the next wave of new industrial parks to move into counties surrounding Mecklenburg such as Gaston, Cabarrus, Iredell, Union and York.

Recent significant developments will help recruit regional distribution centers to the Charlotte market. Beacon Partners' WestPointe Business Park at I-485 and I-85 is one of the significant developments in the area. This property offers 30-foot clear cross-dock buildings. Crescent Resources' AirPark West Business Park and AAC's Shopton Ridge Business Park offer an alternative to WestPointe Business Park for users seeking to be located in the airport/I-485/I-85 market. Childress Klein's Ridge Creek Business Park in the southwest market near I-77 and Westinghouse also offers 30-foot clear bulk buildings in a market that has been predominantly a 24-foot clear market.

Though there are not many new developers in the Charlotte area, American Asset Corporation and Higgins Development is the latest to join a long list of quality developers such as Childress Klein Properties, Beacon Partners, Crescent Resources, Trammell Crow Company and ProLogis. Also of note, Simpkins Group of Houston recently developed United Stationers Supply Company's 300,000-square-foot build-to-suit cross-dock building.

While Charlotte has a diverse industrial base, the nearby BMW, Freightliner and Volvo plants have led to a fair number of automotive related suppliers in the area. "Charlotte's developers do a great job of offering all property types to attract a diverse tenant base. However, regional distribution (bulk) centers and light manufacturing tenants are desired," says Holbert.

"At this time, the Charlotte industrial market has faired very well regarding the amount of sublease space on the market. It will be interesting to see if more comes on the market in the near future," Holbert comments. Vacancy rates in the area average 10.9 percent in warehouse buildings and 12.1 percent in flex buildings. Rental rates in the Charlotte area range from $3.25 to $3.75 NNN for Class A warehouse space and from $2.50 to $3.25 NNN for Class B warehouse space. Warehouse space in flex buildings runs from $4.50 to $5.50 NNN while the office portion is between $9.50 and $11. Recent major leases in the Charlotte area include 300,000 square feet by United Stationers Supply Company, 450,000 square feet by Rooms To Go, 158,000 square feet by Graybar Electric Company and 1.2 million square feet by Ross Stores.

Lane A. Holbert, CCIM, is a senior industrial specialist with Grubb & Ellis/Bissell Patrick.


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