VanTrust to Break Ground on more than 600,000 Square Feet of Spec Industrial Space in East Dallas

VanTrust Real Estate, LLC (VanTrust), a full-service commercial real estate development company, will break ground in April on a 621,874-square-foot speculative industrial building in the East Dallas suburb of Forney. Located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and South Gateway Boulevard, the Forney Distribution Center will tap into the industrial market that continues to boom in Kaufman County. 

“In the past year, North Texas has emerged as one of the nation’s premier industrial destinations,” said Bill Baumgardner, executive vice president at VanTrust and head of the company’s Texas office. “As the market continues its upward trajectory, Forney and Kaufman County as a whole, are the next frontier for companies looking for developable land and access to a competitive labor force.”

At year-end, the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex continued to see positive industrial absorption, with demand in the area surpassing 23 million square feet. The East Dallas corridor experienced a 1.2 million-square-foot total net absorption during the 2020 calendar year, with nearly 550,000 square feet of industrial space under construction, according to CBRE. 

“With the market’s need for consumer goods, e-commerce and logistic space rising steadily, Forney has seen leading tenants like Goodyear and Amazon gravitating to the area to build large industrial fulfillment and distribution centers,” said Josh Meredith, director of development at VanTrust. “Following this trend, the Forney Distribution Center will offer the area much-needed space to continue delivering for the high consumer demand.”

The centrally located Forney Distribution Center offers a wide range of strategic advantages for companies looking to capitalize on Kaufman County’s transformative growth. This East Dallas submarket directly connects to U.S. Highway 80, Interstate 35 and Interstate 20, positioning the industrial space to numerous rail, air and ground transportation options offered by the DFW Metroplex. Additionally, in 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau ranked Kaufman County as the No. 2 fastest-growing county in the nation, exposing the distribution center to a surplus of unmatched labor throughout the area. This hot Texas market has been an active investment for VanTrust. Last year alone, VanTrust broke ground on more than 2 million square feet of industrial and office space throughout the DFW Metroplex and El Paso areas, bringing attractive options for companies’ broad array of operations. 

Nathan Lawrence and Krista Clark of CBRE are managing the leasing assignment of the Forney Distribution Center. The project is slated for completion in May 2022.

About VanTrust Real Estate, LLC

VanTrust Real Estate, LLC is a full-service real estate development company. The company acquires and develops real estate assets for the Van Tuyl family portfolio and offers a broad range of real estate services, including acquisition, disposition, development, development services, and asset management. Product types include office, industrial, multifamily, retail, institutional, governmental, hospitality, and recreational. VanTrust works nationally with regional offices in Columbus, Dallas, Phoenix, and Jacksonville, with its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri.