The industrial landscape of Fort Worth continues to change as Carter Park East unveils plans to expand by an additional 1.4 million square feet.
Two new speculative warehouses measuring 645,000 and 771,000 square feet are in store for the industrial park located at 7500 Oak Grove Rd. in southern Fort Worth. The plans filed with the city estimate that the project will cost $69 million, according to the Dallas Business Journal.
If the project, spearheaded by Carter Park East developer Rob Riner Companies, goes off without a hitch, the park will span 6 million feet by late next year.
The 500-acre master-planned industrial development is also owned by Clarion Partners and Crow Holdings Capital, and its leases are managed by Stream, according to the project website.
Just last month, the City of Fort Worth held public hearings on another move to expand Carter Park East, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Siemens AG, a German multinational tech firm, plans to build a 540,000-square-foot plant for manufacturing low-voltage switchgear and switchboards at the park. The project is valued at approximately $125 million. By the time it opens in late 2026, the plant will purportedly add 715 jobs to the area with an annual salary equal to or greater than $63,000.
Carter Park East already hosts the HomeGoods distribution center. This Massachusetts-based retailer occupies over 1 million square feet there as part of a 20-year lease agreement.
Despite other commercial properties, such as office buildings, showing high vacancy rates amid low demand, industrial space has fared much better in the face of rising interest rates and growing inventory.
According to a September report by Commercial Edge, Dallas-Fort Worth saw rent rates grow by 6.9% year over year in August, with a vacancy rate of just 3.9%.
Moreover, the report found that just under 52 million square feet of industrial space was said to be in development, marking a huge difference from other cities in the South. For instance, only 21 million square feet of industrial space is being constructed in Houston.
In August, Dallas-based developer Hillwood revealed plans to expand the Alliance area of Fort Worth by adding two new industrial buildings spanning 224,616 square feet each, as previously covered by The Dallas Express. The two new Class A buildings will be opening early next year. They will include 60-foot loading bays and one 185-foot truck court.
Despite this surge in industrial construction activity in North Texas, most developers are still prioritizing projects outside of Dallas due to the city’s delay-prone permitting process under City Manager T.C. Broadnax.
