Merritt Properties Plans Major Flex/Light Industrial Campus

Merritt RDU Business Park. Image courtesy of Merritt Properties

Merritt Properties has acquired three parcels totaling 142 acres in Cary, N.C., where it is planning a 13-building, 738,750-square-foot flex/light industrial business park. Construction is expected to begin in early 2023 and be completed by the fourth quarter of 2023.

The land was purchased for a total of $9 million. Merritt did not disclose the total development cost. In two of the three transactions, Sarah Goodwin of JLL represented the estate of James Wilkinson and Matt Winters of JLL represented Elbe Associates LLC. There was no broker involved in the third transaction and the seller was not identified.

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Merritt RDU Business Park, which will be the largest flex/light industrial business park in the region, will feature 13 single-story buildings ranging in size from 8,400 to 108,225 square feet. The park will offer clear heights from 18 to 32 feet, leasable bays starting at 1,500 square feet, traditional rear-loaded docks and drive-in capabilities and free surface parking.

The first phase will consist of three buildings on the western side of the site, near the corner of Nelson and Pleasant Grove Church roads.

Keith Wallace of Baltimore-based Merritt Properties said in a prepared statement the business park is responding to demand in the market for flex/light industrial space. He said the Merritt RDU Park will cater to a diverse industry base.

Preleasing is underway for space at the business park, which is 3 miles from RDU International Airport. The site is minutes from I-540, I-40 and US-70.

Growing portfolio

The project marks the developer’s sixth speculative flex/light industrial project in North Carolina and the company’s largest in the state. Merritt Properties has more than 19 million square feet of space in Maryland, North Carolina and Florida. In the Triangle area, the company has five other projects totaling nearly 2 million square feet of leasable space that is developed, proposed or under construction.

The company recently announced North Chapel Business Center, a two-building, 116,300-square-foot development in Chapel Hill, N.C., and closed on 7771 Alexander Town Boulevard, a 35,000-square-foot flex/light industrial building in Raleigh, N.C. The developer’s first project, Merritt TW Crossing, a four-building, 282,471-square-foot property in Durham, N.C., opened a year ago and is nearing full occupancy. Shimadzu Corp., which signed a 7,305-square-foot lease within the first structure, is one of the tenants.

Merritt Capital Business Park in Wake Forest, N.C., which broke ground in December 2020 is nearing completion of its first two buildings. The property is slated to have up to seven buildings totaling 452,500 square feet on 74 acres. Merritt Midway Business Park, which will have up to five buildings totaling 271,450 square feet on 35 acres, is under construction in Knightdale, N.C., and expected to deliver in the second quarter this year.