TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – You may have noticed the growing number of industrial buildings around the Toledo area that are being used for things like distribution and warehousing. It’s a section of the local real estate market that is doing extremely well and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
Plenty of industries are helping drive in the impressive numbers and they are numbers that will pay dividends for years to come.
Lynette Reichle is a senior vice president with Reichle|Klein Group. She’s specialized in industrial real estate for more than 20 years.
“People who have been in the business even longer than I have, we are all marveling at what’s going on,” said Reichle.
There has been major growth in recent years in manufacturing space and so-called light industrial, which includes distribution and warehousing.
“If you’re not working at one of the facilities or driving by one, you may not think about it, but in my opinion it drives a lot of the overall health of our economy,” said Reichle. “Anything growing in the warehousing or manufacturing industry will help grow the rest of the market.”
And there are no signs of a shift.
“There is nothing on the horizon saying this is where it will stop,” said Reichle. “There are projects being negotiated, new construction projects on the horizon. It is all great news.”
While the automotive sector is still a driving force in our economy, the market has expanded.
“Our market is so much more diverse than it’s ever been,” said Reichle. “We’re so excited for the future of our community. We are not just tied to one industry.”
Reichle says the trends are helping spur double-digit percentage increases in average asking rents. She adds the numbers are also impressive when it comes to occupancy rates.
“We’re at about 3% vacancy rates right now and that’s with millions of square feet being constructed,” said Reichle. “We’ve had five-to-six-million-square feet of space go up in the last 12 months either under construction or delivered.”
The projects include local, national and international investments.
“We’ve seen some players from outside the market, which has not happened in my 20 plus years, putting up new buildings on a speculative basis,” said Reichle. “That is helping the industry and reinforcing the higher rents.”
Reichle says a big part of our region’s success is our easy access to the vast majority of the United States in less than a day through rail, highways, air and the Port of Toledo. But she says our people are a huge component. The region’s skilled labor force is a key part of this success story.
While interest rates are going up, and there has been a bit of softening, Reichle says the industrial market is still stronger than she has ever seen.
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