Stream Realty, Principal Plan 1 MSF Houston Industrial Park

Portside Logistics Center. Image courtesy of Stream Realty Partners

Stream Realty Partners will add a 1 million-square-foot speculative development to the metropolitan Houston industrial market when it joins joint venture partner Principal Real Estate Investors to break ground on Portside Logistics Center in Baytown, Texas.

The partners will commence the two-building project in the third quarter of 2022.

Portside will take shape on an approximately 28-acre site at 4838 Borusan Road sited roughly 30 miles east of downtown Houston and acquired from Dana Transport. The property, located in the coveted Southeast industrial submarket, sits just off Highway 99 and provides easy access to Port Houston’s Barbour’s Cut and Bayport container terminals.

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Securing developable land in the Southeast submarket is no simple feat, as Justin Robinson, executive managing director of Stream Realty Partners’ Industrial Development Services division, notes in a prepared statement: With serious land constraints in place for industrial development in this pocket, we feel this development opportunity perfectly positions our venture to capture this market growth and strong tenant demand.

The LEED-certified project will be able to accommodate users of various sizes via the expandable 760,000-sf cross-dock facility and the flexible 260,000-square-foot front-load facility. Both buildings will offer desirable features such as 36- and 40-foot clear heights, as well as spec office space, LED warehouse lights and fully fenced and secured truck courts.

Timing is everything

Like much of the national industrial market, the Houston industrial market continued its strong run into the first quarter of 2022, with more than 11.5 million square feet of lease deals transacted, marking the metro’s second-highest volume of quarterly leasing activity on record, according to a report by JLL.

And it appears the strong demand for industrial product in Houston will persist over the long term, making Portside Logistics Center a welcome project in the area. “The industrial market will continue to see strong momentum, led by an infusion of new companies and marked growth from long-time Houston occupiers,” according to the JLL report. “With very robust tenants in the market pipeline, demand should remain ahead of supply over the next 12 months, driving strong performance and continued rent growth.”