Land clearing starting on South MacArthur across from Hobby Lobby

[ChrisHayes]

It looks like they're starting to clear the land on South MacArthur across from where Hobby Lobby is undergoing a large expansion with new warehouses. Anything going on here? This is just south of 29th.

[Pete]

Can't find any permits or planning documents.

[ChrisHayes]

Any updates on what's going on along MacArthur? They cleared out all the trees across from where the new HL warehouses are being built, there's construction barriers up, and lanes are closed.

[Pete]

I still can't find anything.

Is this on the SE corner of SW 29th & MacArthur or is it to the south of that?

[ChrisHayes]

I still can't find anything.

Is this on the SE corner of SW 29th & MacArthur or is it to the south of that?

It's on the corner, and stretching a bit to the south towards the roads that lead into the business park.

[Pete]

Absolutely no permits or planning documents.

Property owners can clear land and conduct site work without permits.

[Bill Robertson]

It's been done at the same time that OG&E put in the huge distribution towers right there. Not sure why they would do all the extra dirt work but it is a coincidence.

[Pete]

It's been done at the same time that OG&E put in the huge distribution towers right there. Not sure why they would do all the extra dirt work but it is a coincidence.

Could be a "while we're at it" situation as there is a big creek that runs right through the middle of that property.

[GaryOKC6]

Could it be this?
Biggest-ever' speculative industrial park set to rise in OKC thanks to booming demand
Richard Mize
Oklahoman

The digitally driven industrial building boom keeps booming, with another "biggest-ever" speculative warehouse park under way in Oklahoma City.

The development is in response to demand fueled by online shopping, which spiked early during the COVID-19 pandemic but has remained high since, e-commerce in general, and other drivers, including companies' transportation logistics and shipping needs.

It's billed as a "speculative" park because no tenants are signed. It is on offer to all potential users.

It's a new project — with 1.7 million square feet of space, or about 35 football fields — but on a spot long important to the city's industrial engine:

OKC Logistics Park, by Flint Development and marketed by local brokerage Newmark Robinson Park, will be at 2800 S Council Road in the heart of the city's industrial sector, on part of what for years was a Bridgestone/Firestone Dayton Tire factory.
An architectural drawing of part of OKC Logistics Park, which developers say will be the largest-ever speculative industrial park in Oklahoma City, at 1.7 million square feet, on the former longtime site of a Bridgestone-Firestone Dayton Tire factory.
Expansion at Will Rogers Business Park in Oklahoma City's main industrial area

The 1.7 million square feet of space for lease will be added to 1 million square feet already there — the reconfigured remains of the 2.4 million-square-foot factory, owned by Bulk Industrial, based in Prairie Village, Kansas.

Flint Development, based in the same suburb of Kansas City, Kansas, as Bulk Industrial, formed from the splitting of Big Industrial, according to Newmark Robinson Park.

Big Industrial bought the shuttered tire plant in 2007, divided it in two, named it Will Rogers Business Park, and offered it for lease to industrial users.

"We are experiencing an unprecedented demand for industrial space from a variety of users," said Brett Price, senior managing director of Newmark Robinson Park, who is marketing the new space with Kris Davis, senior vice president, and industrial adviser Karley Harper.
Industrial property owners and developers are in the driver's seat

It's the second time in six months for a speculative industrial park billed as the biggest ever in Oklahoma City to be started. In October, Dallas-based Blue Road Investments started 400,000-square-foot Southeast Commerce Park at SE 89 and Pole Road.

Newmark Robinson Park is marketing both industrial parks. There is demand enough for both, Price said.

"Whether it is e-commerce, logistics, manufacturing or warehousing, the industrial market shows no signs of cooling in the coming years," Price said.

Another 170,000 square feet of industrial space is under construction in northeast Oklahoma City, CBRE Group said in a recent report.

Property owners and developers are in the driver's seat, CBRE researchers Hannah Huynh and E. Michelle Miller wrote in the report.
Strong demand has warehouse lease rates on the rise in Oklahoma City

"Low vacancy and availability rates have given way to a landlord- and seller-friendly market with increasing rental rates," CBRE reported, noting the influence of the pandemic year. "Asking rates made slight increases every year since before the pandemic but began making larger jumps in 2020."

Average lease rates in Oklahoma City have risen from less than $5 per square foot per year in 2016 to $6.81 at the end of 2021, CBRE said, with tenants paying for building insurance, property taxes, maintenance and utilities.

CBRE statistics show how tight the market is. In the first half of last year, 500,000 square feet of space was leased and taken off the market. In the second half, that dropped to under 300,000 square feet — for lack of more space for tenants to lease.

"This decrease vividly illustrates the current challenges of the market," CBRE reported. "Many tenants find themselves unable to find space that suits their needs, leading them to stay in their current location or build to suit.

"Those who opt out of the competitive market by way of new construction continue to face heightened construction costs and lengthy delivery times. Even so, build-to-suit remains a popular option for many — specifically in (Oklahoma City's) Southeast and Southwest submarkets."
Details of OKC Logistics Park, a new big industrial park in Oklahoma City

OKC Logistics Park will be build in two phases. Phase 1, costing between $90 million and $100 million, will have two buildings totaling more than 1 million square feet of space, and Phase 2 will have 710,000 square feet, the brokerage said.

With both Southeast Commerce Park and OKC Logistics Park, the kinds and number of jobs generated will depend on the types of companies that lease the space. Light manufacturing would require more workers than warehouse-distribution.

When complete, OKC Logistics Park will have cross-dock facilities, with loading docks front and back, with 312 dock doors; 16 drive-in doors; space to park 626 trailers; and parking for 1,024 cars, on 115 acres.

Price noted that the location, 2 miles south of Interstate 40 and less than 5 miles from Will Rogers World Airport, presents a "unique opportunity for multiple users."

"This is the largest speculative industrial project in the history of Oklahoma City," Price said. "Over the past 18 months, finding large industrial tracts in Oklahoma City that are well-suited for development has become challenging."

Senior business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate, and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999. Contact him at rmize@oklahoman.com.

[Bill Robertson]

^
That's on the East side of Council and they've been working on it for awhile. The just cleared land is on the West side.
But that complex on the East side is going to be gigantic!

[GaryOKC6]

I have friends at Hobby Lobby who are telling me that they are planning another building. That is a possibility.

[chssooner]

Would make sense. They are growing very steadily, nationwide.