3PL Provider Opens 2nd Dallas Distribution Center

Barrett Distribution Centers, a third-party logistics provider based in Franklin, Mass., has expanded its operations in the Dallas region with a second location.

The firm has opened a 529,000-square-foot facility in Forney, Texas, carrying the address 13991 U.S. Highway 80. The property’s owner was not disclosed, and a Barrett spokesperson did not reply to Commercial Property Executive’s request for information. However, according to data provided by CommercialEdge, the building is part of an EQT Exeter industrial complex.

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Specifically, the facility is Building 2 in the lessor’s Class A, three-building Exeter Logistics East campus. Completed last year, the warehouse totals 529,047 square feet and features a cross-dock configuration with 36-foot clear height, 145 trailer parking spaces, 111 dock-high overhead doors, 41 levelers, four drive-in ramped doors and 50- by 56-foot column spacing.

The facility will support direct-to-consumer e-commerce and omnichannel fulfillment, along with retail/B2B distribution and warehousing. In furtherance of that, Barrett intends to equip the building with such current tech as drones and autonomous mobile robots.

Established in 1941, Barrett works with clients in multiple industries, but has a focus on apparel and footwear, health and beauty, consumer packaged goods, and education. The firm has more than 25 locations across the U.S.; its first Dallas-area one was a 500,000-square-foot facility in Garland, Texas.

Slight chill in a big market

Across the Dallas-Fort Worth industrial market, vacancy rose year-over-year by 330 basis points to 8.7 percent, as supply continues to outpace demand, according to fourth-quarter report from Newmark.

Deliveries in 2023 totaled approximately 70 million square feet. Meanwhile, industrial leasing declined to 12.9 million square feet in the fourth quarter. Projects currently under construction are 32 percent preleased overall.

EQT’s industrial footprint in the metro amounts to more than 8.6 million square feet, according to CommercialEdge information. Last July, the firm acquired Forney Logistics Crossing, a 904,495-square-foot Class A industrial asset in Forney, Texas, from Stillwater Capital and Grandview Partners for an undisclosed amount. Newmark advised the sellers.