Prologis plans largest spec project ever built in market

The 601,000-square-foot distribution building planned by Prologis at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center east of Sparks will be the largest speculative project ever constructed in the region.

And the building that previously held the mark a 525,000-square-foot building under development by Trammell Crow Co. is within shouting distance of the Prologis project.

Denver-based Prologis said last week it acquired 32 acres at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center and plans to begin construction of the major new distribution center in the second half of this year.

The building is scheduled for completion around April 1 next year.

United Construction Co. of Reno is the general contractor. Blakely Johnson & Ghusn of Reno is the architect.

Brandon Page, a Prologis vice president and Reno market officer, said the building will be marketed to retailers, manufacturers, logistic providers and others.

The center might be leased to a single user, he said, or it might be divided among two or three tenants.

The record-setting size of the development reflects the increased importance of Reno as a distribution center for the entire West Coast, Page said.

"We're really seeing the Reno distribution market regionalize in front of our eyes," he said.

Strong demand has pushed industrial vacancy rates down across the region, and he said vacancies in Prologis buildings are below the 6 percent reported market-wide. Prologis owns or operates about 4 million square feet of industrial space in 27 buildings in the Reno-Sparks area.

But while falling vacancy rates signal a need for new construction, Page said development of industrial buildings has been limited by the sharp increase in land prices in the region as well as rising construction costs.

"It's been hard to make it pencil out," he said, especially with strong competition from California's Central Valley and Inland Empire regions.

The land at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, he said, "is the best available, ready-to-be-developed big box site in the market."

Good access to Interstate 80 will be a key selling point as Prologis looks for tenants, Page said.

Tahoe Reno Industrial Center is about 11 miles east of Sparks in Storey County. The land purchased by Prologis is part of the 6,000-acre first phase of the center, which already includes facilities for Wal-Mart, James Hardie Building Products and Transwestern Polymers.