Warehouse Development Hitting Peak Levels

Warehouse construction on the West Coast is at it highest levels in decades

Warehouse development on the West Coast is at its highest level in decades. A new report from CBRE shows there is currently 57.7 million square feet of warehouse development in eight top West Coast markets. The activity accounts for 40% of total warehouse development among the top 20 industrial markets in the country. Ecommerce—including retailers, wholesalers and third-party logistics companies—are driving the increased demand for warehouse space.

Among all of this development activity, most is speculative. “Nearly 75% of the current West Coast development is speculative due to developers’ confidence in demand levels across all markets,” Jamil Harkness senior industrial analyst at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “Both spec and build-to-suit have been exceptionally strong, and we expect this to continue for the foreseeable future, the next 12 to 18 months.”