Memphis Global Crossing breaks ground on new industrial space
Developers broke ground on a speculative industrial space in Memphis on Wednesday, a more than $20 million project expected to capitalize on a growing demand for logistics-focused sites and provide several hundred jobs once occupied.
Memphis Global Crossing is being built at Distriplex Farmers Drive and Global Drive, eight miles east of the FedEx Express world hub. The facility is expected to be built by June, said Kemp Conrad of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Advisors, which is heading the project’s marketing and leasing aspects.
Atlanta-based developer Robinson Weeks Partners is designing the space with the logistics industry in mind, as 119 trailer parking spaces and 125 dockhigh doors are among its planned amenities, according to the project’s website.
At 421,000 square feet, Memphis Global Crossing will be the largest Class A space — generally newer, higher-end properties — available in the city once complete, according to the Greater Memphis Chamber.
The e-commerce boom has increased demand for warehousing space throughout the country.
“Right now, Memphis isn’t even in the game for some of these (industrial) users because we don’t have a building, and now we will, and hopefully more as we’re looking at other projects,” Conrad said.
There has been more warehouse space availability in Mississippi of late, Conrad said. However, Memphis has the edge in areas like proximity to the FedEx hub and other logistics assets, he said.
Richard Smith, Greater Memphis Chamber chairman and FedEx Trade Networks CEO, said the groundbreaking is “a good start” for the growth of quality industrial space in Memphis and that Tennessee is currently a hot market for projects like Memphis Global Crossing.
Conrad said there has already been plenty of interest in the site, adding a broker texted him earlier Wednesday about a possible deal.
Robinson Weeks Partners first announced the project in August. According to the firm, it’s the first Class A speculative industrial space being built in Memphis in more than a decade.
The facility will likely be occupied by one or two tenants, Conrad said.
Memphis is one of Robinson Weeks Partners’ target markets, with the firm saying it’s in due diligence with other projects in the city. Nashville is another one of its target markets.
The Reaves Firm, based in Memphis, is providing civil engineering services for the project. The project’s general contractor is Atlanta-based ARCO Design/Build.