Hines, MetLife Kickstart Logistics Project

Tabler Station Logistics Park. Image courtesy of Hines

Hines and an investor advised by MetLife Investment Management have begun construction on Tabler Station Logistics Park, in Martinsburg, W.Va., phase one of which will comprise two Class A industrial buildings of 365,400 square feet each.

Martinsburg is in West Virginia’s eastern panhandle, in the lower Shenandoah Valley; the nearest large town is Hagerstown, Md. Martinsburg is also home to one of Procter & Gamble’s largest manufacturing plants on the East Coast.

The 145-acre site has excellent access to I-81, making the project well located to service not only the Washington, D.C., market, but also Baltimore, Richmond, Va., Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

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Both buildings in phase one will feature 40-foot clear heights at first column, a cross-dock configuration with 450-foot building depths, 185-feet-deep truck courts and full building circulation with easily segregated car and trailer traffic.

Phase one of Tabler Station is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The project was designed by Powers Brown Architects and Pennoni Engineering, and phase one is being constructed by RS Mowery. Wells Fargo is providing construction financing for phase one, and Hines is partnering with MetLife Core Plus Partners, a joint venture composed of institutional investors advised by MetLife Investment Management.

Once complete, the park will consist of three buildings totaling about 1.6 million square feet of industrial space.

Tabler Station Logistics Park will be Hines’ first industrial development in the U.S. East region.

The Hines deal team includes Senior Managing Director Chuck Watters, Managing Director Tom Griggs, Director John Carroll, Associate Julia Craig, and Senior Construction Manager Eric Mitman.

Picturesque and booming

West Virginia’s eastern panhandle is a part of the I-81 corridor that has seen a spike in industrial absorption in the second half of this year, according to a third-quarter report on the northern Shenandoah Valley from Colliers. Amazon, Procter & Gamble and Herbalife are among the companies that have taken sizable distribution spaces in the submarket.

The average asking rent in the northern Shenandoah Valley has risen to $5.39 per square foot. The construction pipeline, unsurprisingly, is growing in Hagerstown, Md., and adjoining areas.