A rapidly expanding part of the Houston region is proving to be a hotspot for industrial development. 

The Cy-Fair submarket is experiencing a surge in new industrial activity, reports Community Impact. The newspaper cites data from Caldwell Cos. Showing that roughly 100 of the market’s 500-plus industrial facilities have opened in the last five years. Cy-Fair’s access to major highways and availability of large tracts of land are driving new development, according to the report. 

“Land inside Beltway 8 is getting very expensive, and [it is] very hard to find large tracts of land, and so the developers are moving out towards [the] Grand Parkway,” the Partnership’s Senior Vice President of Research Patrick Jankowski told Community Impact. 

But demand will need to pick up in order to fill the projects recently completed and under development. As of mid-July, the industrial vacancy rate in Cy-Fair was 14.4%, more than twice what it was four years ago. Nevertheless, an additional 2.5 million square feet of new projects are slated to be under construction through 2022, the paper reports. A number of national brands, including The Home Depot and Amazon are reportedly eyeing Cy-Fair for expansion of distribution facilities. 

Community Impact cited Molto Properties as one developer that sees big potential for industrial growth in Cy-Fair. In 2019, Molto built a 136,651-square-foot distribution center west of Huffmeister Road. Now the company is planning to open Barker Cypress Distribution Center, a 142,100-square-foot facility, in early 2022.

“We look forward to continuing our success in northwest Houston with this project that offers unique Highway 290 visibility,” Molto Properties Senior Principal Mike Powers told the paper in a statement. “We’ve been pleased with the level of activity, highlighting how strong northwest Houston’s industrial demand has been.”

Read more about the industrial market expansion in Cy-Fair from Community Impact and learn about manufacturing and distribution in the Houston region.