TriStar Properties has begun construction on its new industrial park, Westport Commerce Center, in Maryland Heights. It's the first new industrial site in the Westport area in 30 years. (Handout)
MARYLAND HEIGHTS 鈥 After years of debate on development in the former flood plain, construction has finally started on a 1.3 million-square-foot industrial park, the first of its kind here in 30 years.
Creve Coeur-based TriStar Properties began working two weeks ago on the first two of six buildings planned for farmland protected by the Howard Bend Levee District, just east of the Missouri River. The project, dubbed the Westport Commerce Center, is the first Class A industrial park to be built in Maryland Heights in three decades, said David Branding, managing director for commercial real estate firm JLL and leasing agent for the property.
Development in the levee district has been hotly contested for years. Environmental groups first fought construction of the levee, and then sought to delay development, arguing the land was too close to wetlands and the Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park. TriStar Principal Michael Towerman said Westport Commerce Center had to develop its own stormwater management system for the project.
The interest stems from how hot the region鈥檚 industrial market has been. Vacancy is 4.5%, a near-historic low for the 果酱视频 area, as the growth of e-commerce has led to an even bigger increase in demand for industrial space, according to the latest research from JLL.
The project, at 15737 River Valley Drive, is about a mile from highways 141 and 364 and 7 miles from the interstates 270 and 70 interchange. Its proximity to both St. Charles and 果酱视频 counties will enable tenants to tap both labor pools, Branding said.
鈥淔rom a location standpoint,鈥 Branding said, 鈥渢here is no comparison.鈥
TriStar, founded in 1996, is a prolific industrial developer in the metro area. It鈥檚 built the Gateway Commerce Center in Edwardsville as well as the technology center for World Wide Technologies.
It is partnering on Westport Commerce Center with Los Angeles-based PCCP, a real estate investment and financing firm with whom TriStar has built about 10 other developments. Towerman said TriStar started talking with PCCP in August, and the firm flew here in September, in the middle of the pandemic, to see the site.
鈥淲hen they got here, they said, 鈥榃e鈥檙e in,鈥欌 Towerman said.
Construction on the first two buildings is expected to finish by the first quarter of 2022, Towerman said.
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TriStar Properties has begun construction on its new industrial park, Westport Commerce Center, in Maryland Heights. It's the first new industrial site in the Westport area in 30 years. (Handout)
