USAA acquires Railhead property in Ft. Worth

[Anonymous]

Two Railheads Are
Better Than One

by Ron Starner
and
Adam Bruns
Duty deferral, elimination, reduction are
just part of advantages of FTZ location.

Dual rail capability was central to Toyota's big decision to come to San Antonio with its new truck plant.
The various amenities of the Railhead Industrial Park are further accentuated by its Triple Freeport and foreign Trade Zone status.
Now it's central to a San Antonio company's decision to make its first move into Dallas-Fort Worth.
In December 2004, San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate made its first foray into Dallas-Fort Worth, buying the remaining 233 acres (94 hectares) at the 633-acre (256-hectare) dual rail-served Railhead Industrial Park site in Fort Worth. Lee D. (Pat) Cornell, Railhead Properties president, will work closely with USAA in a newly created partnership, Zephyr Rail Industrial, L.P., to develop the property, served by BNSF and Union Pacific.
"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," said Pat Duncan, senior vice president of real estate operations for USAA Real Estate Company. "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."
The new partnership between USAA and Railhead came just before another new partnership announced in late March 2005 that could have a big impact on rail-served sites across the state. Texas Gov. Rick Perry and *** Davidson, chairman and chief executive officer of Union Pacific Corp., signed the first-ever memorandum of understanding between a state government and a private railroad. The agreement calls for re-routing or relocation of rail lines in order to alleviate metro-area congestion, increase safety, better serve freight customers and also open up corridor real estate for development of commuter rail lines and new roads.
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 (113 hectares) not yet developed and attracted a 700,000-sq.-ft. (65,030-sq.-m.) distribution center from Del Monte Foods. That project spurred another phase of development within the park, including new streets and infrastructure. Other companies on site include International Paper, Mattel, Con Agra, Potlatch Corp., Quorum International, Millard Refrigeration, Americold and Saddle Creek Logistics.
In addition to the 5 million sq. ft. (464,500 sq. m.) of occupied industrial properties, land is offered for sale as build-to-suit projects. The industrial park features Triple Freeport and Foreign Trade Zone economic incentives. In addition, it lies within one of the state's three designated Enterprise Zones, affording tenants the possibility of additional sales tax abatements.
"We expect to put into service approximately 800,000 square feet [74,320 sq. m.] of new product each year," says Cornell, adding that build-out should be completed in approximately five years with as much as 10 million sq. ft. (929,000 sq. m.) of rail-served industrial buildings in service. Railhead Industrial Park Investors, L.P., is an affiliate of Sundance Square Development, known for its mixed-use and master-planned developments in downtown Fort Worth and in Round Rock/Austin.

From Site Selection Magazine www.siteselection.com