FORT WORTH -- Hillwood Properties is betting that someone will want a big new distribution center or warehouse at its Alliance development.

The developer announced plans Tuesday to construct a speculative 1.2-million-square-foot industrial building as part of its Alliance Center North project. The building will be at the northeast corner of Interstate 35W and Eagle Parkway in far north Fort Worth.

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Hillwood Properties said Tuesday that it will build a 1.2 million-square-foot industrial building in its AllianceTexas project north of Fort Worth.

The news is the latest sign that the depressed market for industrial space is slowly rebounding in North Texas. South Dallas County also has seen several recent deals for large warehouse and distribution centers.

Across the country, industrial projects are picking up, said Jeff Turner, executive vice president of Indiana-based Duke Realty, who’s based in Dallas.

“People consider Dallas one of the top three distribution hubs in the United States,” said Turner, whose firm recently completed Whirlpool Corp.’s 1 million-square-foot distribution center west of Interstate 45 in Wilmer. “Our activity here, especially big deal activity, has gotten really strong, which is encouraging.”

Hillwood said the speculative building will be in its 650-acre Alliance Center North complex. The new industrial building, named Alliance Center North 1, will be on the northeast side of Interstate 35W and Eagle Parkway.

The market for industrial construction in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has been depressed in recent years. Now, demand for large industrial space in D-FW is starting to exceed available inventory, said Mike Berry, president of Hillwood Properties.

“I don’t think anyone’s willing to say that the market is just on a rocket ship, but I think slowly but surely we’ve seen growth, and we’ve seen absorption [of vacant space] and buildings go off the market,” Berry said.

North Texas is seeing resurgence in industrial construction activity involving large spaces. Hillwood is also building a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Coppell for Amazon.

Earlier this month, two Southern California investors bought a 530-acre development site in southern Dallas County for industrial development. Xebec Realty Partners and CT Realty Investors said the land could accommodate almost 9 million square feet of industrial space.

And in the last year, major companies such as Ace Hardware, PepsiCo and Quaker Oaks announced plans to relocate major industrial facilities along Interstate 20 and Interstate 45 corridors south of Dallas.

Given the recent demand, Hillwood wants to be ready.

“Bottom line, we’re banking on the fact that this trend will continue and the industrial market will stay relatively firm,” Berry said.

It has been about four years since Hillwood built a speculative industrial building. That, he said, “shows you where the market has been.”

During that time, Hillwood has worked to fill vacant space and renew existing leases, Berry said.

Last year, Hillwood secured more than 5 million square feet of leases for new and existing tenants. That’s compared with just under 3 million in 2011.

Construction of Alliance Center North 1 will begin this summer. The building is expected to be completed in about eight months. It is part of the 17,000-acre AllianceTexas development.

Berry said several sectors, including e-commerce, electronics, automotive and aerospace, could be potential tenants for the building.

Caroline Rose Hunt and her family, who built Dallas’ landmark Crescent complex and founded Rosewood Hotel & Resorts, will be honored with membership in the North Texas Commercial Real Estate Hall of fame.

Also getting the award is Mike Berry, who’s headed Hillwood’s huge AllianceTexas development in North Fort Worth.
 
The Hunt family and Berry will be honored at the commercial real estate association’s May 2 dinner, which also celebrates the 25th year of the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors.
 
The North Texas Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame was started in 1988, and the awardees include the late developer Trammell Crow and commercial real estate legend Henry. S. Miller Jr. Since the award was founded, 80 business people have received the designation.

DALLAS-Hillwood Properties' president Michael Berry and the Caroline Rose Hunt Family, which built, owns and operates Rosewood Hotel & Resort, are the latest inductees into the North Texas Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. Both will be honored at the NTCRE dinner and 25th reunion, which will take place on May 2 at the Brook Hollow Golf Club.
 
The Caroline Rose Hunt Family operates Rosewood Corp., which invests in real estate, oil and gas, private equity capital and ranches through three subsidiaries: Rosewood Resources, Inc.; Rosewood Private Investments and Rosewood Property Co.   Additionally, Caroline Rose Hunt is the founder and former honorary chair of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.  Rosewood debuted its first hotel, The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas, in 1980 with a vision put in place by Mrs. Hunt to create luxurious, residential-style hotels that offer unparalleled attention to detail and exceptional personalized service. The Rosewood collection, which now encompasses 22 iconic hotels and resorts in seven countries, was sold in 2011.

As president of Hillwood Properties, Michael Berry leads all management, operations and transactions and serves as the company’s representative among public sector entities for AllianceTexas, a 17,000-acre master-planned development in north Fort Worth. Stemming from the strong commercial base of AllianceTexas are corporate campuses, office complexes, tech and data centers, destination retail and entertainment venues, residential housing, schools, churches and community shopping. In total, the development encompasses nearly 32 million square feet, over 300 corporate residents, 30,000+ employees and more than 7,700 single-family homes. AllianceTexas has generated more than $40 billion in economic impact to North Texas.

“We are extremely honored to add the Caroline Rose Hunt Family and Michael Berry to our distinguished Hall of Fame roster,” says Chris Teesdale, chair of the 2013 NTCAR Hall of Fame dinner. “Mrs. Hunt and her family and Mike Berry have brought worldwide acclaim to North Texas for their exceptional hospitality management and innovative property management concepts, respectively.”

February 5, 2013

DALLAS — Hillwood Investment Properties, a Perot company, was named Industrial Developer of the Year by NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, Inland Empire Chapter.

“We are honored to receive this award from NAIOP,” said John Magness, senior vice president for Hillwood. “Our development efforts in the Inland Empire began more than a decade ago, and we have been fortunate to partner with many local cities and organizations to build successful projects in the region.”

Hillwood Investment Properties is the developer of AllianceCalifornia, a 2,000-acre trade and logistics center located at the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, CA. Since its establishment in 2002, AllianceCalifornia has brought more than 8,000 jobs back to the community.

The award was presented to Hillwood at the NAIOP chapter’s second annual REXIE Awards meeting on Jan. 22.

NAIOP Inland Empire is a regional chapter of the national commercial real estate development association that encompasses both Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

About Hillwood

Hillwood, a Perot company, is ranked as one of the top commercial real estate investors and developers in the country and the top residential developer in Dallas-Fort Worth. Hillwood’s developments currently house facilities for more than 60 companies listed on the Fortune 500, Global 500 or Forbes List of Top Private firms. Hillwood is best known for its Alliance brand that includes the 17,000-acre AllianceTexas, 4,474-acre AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center, and 2,000-acre AllianceCalifornia. For additional information, please visit www.hillwoodinvestmentproperties.com. 

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Online shopping leader Amazon.com said today it will open three fulfillment centers in Texas that will employ more than 1,000 people.

The sites are in Coppell, Haslet and near San Antonio in Schertz. USAA Real Estate Company is building the project in Schertz. Hillwood Development Co. is building the project in Haslet as part of AllianceTexas, a 17,000-acre, master-planned community, and in Coppell.
 
Amazon didn’t say when the centers will open.
 
The 1.2 million-square-foot site in San Antonio suburb Schertz and the 1 million-square-foot site in Coppell will handle larger items like televisions. The 1.1 million-square-foot site in Haslet will handle smaller items like books, small electronics or DVDs.
 
Comments from the press release:
 
“This is the biggest economic development partnership announcement in the history of our city,” said city of Haslet Mayor Bob Golden. “The jobs and potential tax base that this development will bring to our community is a major milestone in our city’s growth.”
 
“Amazon, coming to Coppell, complements our strategy of building a quality business base that supports the community and the region,” said Coppell Mayor Karen Hunt. “We are thrilled Amazon chose Coppell for a new fulfillment center. We recognize their large capital investment and new jobs brought to this area.”
 
“We are thrilled to formally and officially welcome Amazon to Schertz,” said city of Schertz Mayor Michael Carpenter. “The investment Amazon is making in our community is significant, and it is a manifest expression by yet another highly successful and well-respected company that Schertz is a great place to do business.”
 
“We look forward to putting more than 1,000 Texans to work at our new fulfillment centers in Schertz, Coppell and Haslet,” said Mike Roth, Amazon’s vice president of North American fulfillment. “We appreciate the state and local elected officials who have helped us make this exciting investment in the state of Texas.”
 
“We’re pleased Amazon is investing in Texas by bringing three fulfillment centers and more than 1,000 jobs to our state,” said Texas Comptroller Susan Combs. “I thank Amazon for working with us—making it possible to bring new jobs and revenue to the state of Texas.”