CenTX 35 Logistics Center could open in late 2023
An architect’s rendering shows one of the three buildings that are being constructed at CenTX 35 Logistics Park.
A map provided by Seattle-based KBC Advisors shows CenTX 35 Logistics Center, a speculative warehouse park under construction in far north Temple. The logistics center will be behind Buc-ee’s travel center and will be accessible from the I-35 frontage road and northeast Loop 363.
DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE
A new 156-acre logistics center is under construction behind the Buc-ee’s travel center on Temple’s far north side at the intersection of Loop 363 and Interstate 35.
The small industrial park, which will be accessible from both I-35 and the Loop, is expected to be completed in late 2023, according to Mo Green, market lead for Seattle-based KBC Advisors. The company maintains a Central Texas office in Austin.
“We closed on the real estate deal around Christmas last year, and we broke ground at the tail end of 2022,” Green said. “We were thinking the project would be finished in 2024, but it’s ahead of schedule. I think it will be November or December of this year.”
CenTX 35 Logistics Center is being constructed as three speculative buildings— sort of an industrial Field of Dreams. KBC is building it, and companies are already coming for leasing information.
“We are still in the early stages of construction, but we already sold a 1 million-square-foot pad that will be used as a warehouse,” Green said. “There are two other buildings, and they will be the premiere logistics buildings between Dallas and San Antonio.”
The largest of the two remaining buildings is a 613,076-square-foot facility with 40-foot walls and trailer parking on both sides.
“Today’s trucks are getting bigger, and they have trouble turning around at some warehouses they serve,” Green said. “They will have plenty of space here.”
The smallest building under construction at the park is a 242,000-square-foot facility that likely will be used by multiple tenants, he said.
Green said KBC selected Temple as the site for CenTX 35 for a variety of reasons.
“We’ve been paying attention to the I-35 corridor, and freight is becoming the biggest expense for warehouses and manufacturers,” he said. “We have been looking at how we can better serve the Greater Austin area, and we began investing in the area south of Austin such as areas around Buda and San Marcos. We see Bell County as a northern counterpart to those locations.”
“Temple already has about 20 big corporate footprints, and the labor population is strong for manufacturing and warehouse jobs,” Green added. And, it’s a strong location.”
Temple is located in the heart of the Texas Triangle, a region that includes the state’s largest cities — San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston. About 75 percent of Texas’ population lies within a three-hour drive of Temple.
“We are on a very short list of for-lease industrial sites,” Green said. “We are out on the market saying: ‘This is what we can do.’ If we can pre-lease the buildings before they are finished, we can modify plans to meet tenant needs.”
Adrian Cannady, president and CEO of Temple Economic Development Corporation, said the spec buildings are something that Temple has needed.
“We have not had in recent years — or maybe ever — the opportunity to have Class A industrial facilities available on a speculative basis,” Cannady said. “We lose projects because some companies want to move into an existing building quickly. This will help round out our real estate portfolio of options we can present to industries looking to locate in Temple.”
Green said KBC is thrilled to be building in Temple.
“We are very excited to be here,” he said. “The need is here, the labor pool is here, and the city and TEDC are cooperative and work together. We don’t always see that.”
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