Lee & Associates sums it up: Columbus’ industrial market is red-hot today
Dan Rafter
A torrid pace. That’s what Lee & Associates is predicting for the industrial market in Columbus in its latest research report.
According to Lee & Associates’ second quarter Columbus industrial report, 8.87 million square feet of industrial space is currently under construction in the Columbus, Ohio, market. That’s a big number, and is up from the 6.63 million square feet of industrial space that was under construction in the first quarter of this year.
And Lee & Associates isn’t predicting a slowdown in new construction anytime soon. According to the company, several big industrial projects are ready to start later this summer, bringing what it says is much-needed new product to the Columbus area.
In the Southeast portion of the Columbus market, CT Realty has already delivered its first two spec buildings along Airbase Road, buildings that total more than 1.146 million square feet. Hillwood/NorthPoint completed their two spec industrial buildings at Bixby Road for 872,158 total square feet.
And Core5 delivered its 437,154-square-foot spec industrial building at Southgate Parkway in Licking County.
The numbers for Columbus’ industrial market tell the story of a particularly strong sector that is only gaining momentum. The market saw 2.88 million square feet of net absorption during the second quarter, according to Lee & Associates. And that comes after an even stronger first quarter of the year, when the Columbus market saw 5.02 million square feet of net absorption.
The vacancy rate for industrial product throughout the Columbus market stood at 5.6 percent in the second quarter, up a bit from 4.9 percent in the first quarter of the year. But that increase is mostly thanks to the new industrial product that has been delivered to this market.
The averate listing price for industrial space held steady in the second quarter at $4.41 a square foot.
The area has been no stranger to big deals this year, either. Lee & Associates pointed to Bath & Body Works leasing an entire spec industrial building developed by VanTrust in the Commercial Point industrial park. That building was more than 1 million square feet.
Also, tenants TJX Companies, NFI, Covetrus and Geodis leased more than 100,000 square feet each in Columbus’ Southeast market.
