With so much business interest coming to the Hoosier state from all over the world, communities around the state are getting preemptive by giving them ready-made places to move into. Spec buildings are going up all over the place this year in the hopes of luring job creators and their investments. We’ve gathered a look at several large facilities that are on the way today.
New Castle – New Shell in a Work-Ready Town
Pictured are (l to r): Susan Huhn, County Council President; Chad Malicoat, Henry County Council Member; Ed Tarantino, Board of Commissioners President; Shannon Thom, Economic Development Corporation Board Chair; Scott Hayes, Henry County Redevelopment Commission Chairman; Mike Runnebohm and Chris King, general contractors; and Greg Martz, Developer.Officials in Henry County recently broke ground on a new spec shell building project in the New Castle-Henry County Industrial Park. This will be the location’s third spec building.
The newest building sits on 15 acres and will be 50,000 square feet upon completion, with options to expand to over 200,000 square feet. The project is a public private partnership between the Henry County Redevelopment Commission, developer Greg Martz, and general contractor Runnebohm Construction. New Castle is an ACT-Certified Work Ready community, providing a large pool of qualified employee options.
Whiteland – Three Huge Warehouses
The Town of Whiteland is going to be getting a lot more space soon, thanks to three new large warehouses that are on the way. All three of the new spec buildings will reside west of I-65.
For the first two, Core5 Industrial Partners from Atlanta, GA will be constructing the new buildings on about 129 acres of farmland. One building will encompass about 500,000 square feet and the other will be 1.1 million square feet. The company’s total investment in Whiteland is $70 million. The smaller building is due to be completed in 2023, and the larger one will be finished in 2024.
The third large spec warehouse in Whiteland is being developed by Chicago-based Hines Acquisition. It will be a 1.1 million-square-foot industrial building that will cost about $28.8 million. An expected completion date has not yet been released.
East Chicago – Redeveloping DuPont Site
In East Chicago, things are progressing on the redevelopment of the former 400-acre DuPont industrial site. East Chicago Gateway Partners are in the midst of a $27 million environmental remediation project at the site. Following that, ground will be broken on a new spec building intended to serve as a logistics center. Construction is expected to begin this year.
La Porte – Room for Multiple Tenants
Quincy Associates Industrial Development has broken ground in the Thomas Rose Industrial Park in La Porte, Indiana. This speculative development is on a 23-acre property and will begin with the construction of a 150,000 square foot building that can house either one or multiple tenants. The building is designed to be expandable to 300,000 square feet.
Construction has already begun on this new building with plans to finish in early summer 2021. The general contractor on the project is J. Shoffner General Contracting.
Franklin – Almost a Million Square Feet
GDI Companies new spec distribution building in Franklin.GDI Companies is starting construction soon on a new spec distribution building in Franklin, IN. Plans call for the 954,370-square-foot building to be occupied before the end of the year. It will be located within the I-65 South Logistics Center near SR 44. Features of the new building include a crossed dock with 95 docking positions, 40-foot clearance height, and parking for over 350 trailers and 550 cars.
Greenwood – New Project Getting Started
Indianapolis-based Shear Property Group is working to establish a new 169,700-square-foot spec building on the east side of the City of Greenwood. The $8.6 million building will feature 12 loading docs and three overhead doors. Tax abatements were recently approved and the project is expected to move forward soon.
Whiteland – Two Spec Buildings New Business Park
New spec building in the Mohr Logistics Park in Whiteland.Mohr Capital, a Dallas-based firm, is working on two new spec buildings in its new Mohr Logistics Park in Whiteland. The first building is referred to as Spec Lot 9. It will consist of 827,000 square feet of 32-foot clear bulk industrial space.
The second building is coming later on Spec Lot 6, a 1.057-million-square-foot lot. In total, the new lots will deliver nearly 2 million square feet of space for lease in the market.
Spec Lot 9 and Spec Lot 6 are scheduled for completion in October 2021 and January 2022, respectively. The start of construction on the new lots comes on the heels of the recent completion of a 1-million-square-foot facility within the Park leased to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
Set Up and Ready
If the goal is to draw investment from job-generating companies, then Indiana is sure doing what it can to make their goals coming to life as seamlessly as possible. By pre-establishing ready-made buildings, it’ll make our state even more attractive to those looking to grow.
