Industrial buildings often lack curb appeal, but to developers and investors, they might as well be the coveted big house at the end of the cul-de-sac.
Demand for those nondescript, low-rise concrete warehouses, distribution centers and manufacturing buildings that increasingly dot the Twin Cities suburbs remains exceptionally strong at a time when other key segments of the commercial real estate world are sagging. Yet, construction hasn’t quite surged to satiate the hunger.
The average vacancy rate for industrial buildings across the metro has hovered around 4.5% for the past six months, according to new data from Colliers, a commercial brokerage. That’s a percentage point higher than a year ago and just below historical averages.
It’s also a fraction of the double-digit vacancy rate for the office sector. Demand for offices has sunk, and rents have plummeted. Office development in the Twin Cities is at a standstill, and apartment construction is evaporating.
That means the Twin Cities, like many other major metros, should be in the midst of another industrial revolution. If the rise of e-commerce and online retail — with its reliance on massive warehouses and distribution centers with soaring ceilings and plenty of space for storage of goods awaiting delivery — hadn’t already influenced developers, the flagging office and multifamily markets should.
Yet, while demand for industrial space is strong, supply is still waning. Higher borrowing costs and rising construction costs mean fewer new projects and rapidly rising prices.