Railhead Industrial Park Sold To USAA Real Estate Company Co.
December 10, 2004 - Fort Worth, TX
Railhead Industrial Park Investors, LP, a Sundance Square Development entity, announced recently that it has sold the majority of the remaining 280 acres of the dual rail-served Railhead Industrial Park site in Fort Worth to USAA Real Estate Co. They also announced that a joint plan to complete development of the property with USAA Real Estate Co. has been established.
In addition, the group also announced that Lee D. (Pat) Cornell, Railhead Properties president, will work closely with USAA in a newly created partnership, Zephyr Rail Industrial, LP to develop the site. Mr. Cornell and Railhead Properties will continue to be closely involved as the development partner of the site and also retain an 18-acre parcel at the location for its own account.
“In this new ownership structure, I will help USAA Real Estate Co. develop the remaining acreage in Railhead,” Cornell said while announcing the property sale and partnership. “We will be providing development expertise to build additional buildings on the site while USAA will supply strong financial backing and their considerable marketing and development abilities. It is a win-win for everyone involved, including the City of Fort Worth which worked closely with us to create additional employment opportunities for Fort Worth citizens in the process of developing Railhead.”
“We are very pleased and recognize the value of this this rail-served development,” said Pat Duncan, senior vice president of real estate operations for USAA Real Estate Company. “We have been looking for opportunities in the Fort Worth market for some time, primarily because of the city’s pro-business attitude.”
The 633-acre Railhead development is the only such facility in the Metroplex that offers neutral rail direct service to its buildings. Its unique location, some 10 minutes north of downtown Fort Worth , is served by both Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads. In addition to railroad service and its close proximity to IH 35W, Highway 287 and NE Loop 820, Railhead is located near Meacham Field and only minutes from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
“The availability of direct back of building rail service from two major railroads has been and continues to be a compelling and strong selling point for us,” Duncan said. “Rail lines have become more and more important to shippers as railroads have assisted in speeding up service considerably and operate on stricter, more reliable schedules. This has allowed tenants within the Railhead Development to lower transportation costs and carry less inventory.”
According to Cornell, Railhead currently has 5 million square feet of industrial properties which are 100 percent-occupied. Within the park, land is offered for sale as build-to-suit projects with facilities available from 200,000 to over 1 million square feet. The industrial park has several economic incentive programs available to companies locating there, among them Triple Freeport and Foreign Trade Zone.
“In a sign that bodes well for the Fort Worth economy, we’ve seen increased interest recently in the remaining sites at Railhead,” Connell said. “Zephyr Rail Industrial, LP plans to build an additional 4 million square feet of spec and user build-to-suit, rail-served industrial buildings. We expect to put into service approximately 800,000 square feet of new product each year. At that rate, build-out should be completed in approximately five years when 9 to 10 million square feet of rail-served industrial buildings are in service.”
Railhead is now home to nationally recognized firms including Del Monte Foods, International Paper, Mattel, Con Agra, Potlatch Corp., Quorum International, Millard Refrigeration, Americold and Saddle Creek Logistics. Interest by other companies in locating at the site has accelerated recently. To insure high quality design and construction, Railhead has strict development guidelines, comprehensive covenants, and deed restrictions. For more information on the park, Railhead’s web site is http://www.railheadpark.com.
Development of Railhead began in 1995. In 2003, Railhead Industrial Park Investors, a local development group led by Fort Worth businessman, Ed Bass, acquired the remaining 280 acres not yet developed. The group successfully attracted Del Monte’s new 700,000 square foot distribution center which initiated the third expansion of Railhead and included installing streets and other infrastructure to serve the site.
Known principally for commercial mixed-use development in downtown Fort Worth , Sundance Square Development is also a managing partner in other large master-planned developments including the 327-acre La Frontera in the Round Rock/Austin area with its shopping center, hotel, office buildings and apartments.
USAA Real Estate Company has approximately $3.6 billion in assets under management and provides acquisition, build-to-suit and development services for corporate and institutional investors. The USAA portfolio consists of office, industrial and hotel properties as well as investments in real estate operating companies. USAA Real Estate Company is a subsidiary of USAA, which has been serving military families since 1922 and has become one of America ’s leading financial services companies with over 5 million customers. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, with offices throughout the United States and Europe, USAA owns or manages assets of more than $79 billion and is rated AAA.