With a humming economy and unemployment rates hovering around their lowest points in decades, St. Joseph and Elkhart counties in Indiana have seen the expansion of existing industries and the installation of entirely new ones.
This story by Caleb Bauer originally appeared in the South Bend Tribune.
But with that growth comes a need for industrial space, which, according to a report recently released by Cressy Commercial Real Estate, is becoming a bit harder to come by.
That’s where speculative construction comes into play, evidenced by the success of Great Lakes Capital’s distribution centers north of South Bend International Airport. Built before signing tenants, “spec” buildings carry the risk that the space might not be filled by prospective tenants.
The first 210,000-square-foot facility was leased to AM General last year to serve as a distribution facility. And across Adams Road, a second distribution facility is now leased to Communications Test Design, Inc., a repair and logistics company for the communications industry.
Now, a third structure, roughly 200,000 square feet, is completed and has a number of tenants.
Rans said Great Lakes has plans to break ground on another spec building, north of the CTDI building, early in 2019.
The new building will join the two distribution centers and CTDI facility that lie just north of Holladay Properties’ Ameriplex at Interstate 80/90 development, which holds distribution centers for FedEx Freight, ChasePlastics and Pepsi Corp.
