Seeking ideas (and possibly a partner) for 80k SF vacant industrial property in TX

[Trevor Fulkerson]

Hi all, 

I've recently gotten an 80,000 sf industrial property under contract in a small town in North Texas. It's decently located, about 2.5 hours to DFW, OKC, and Lubbock. It's also about 10 or 15 minutes away from the forthcoming $4 billion hydrogen plant that was announced a few months ago. 

It's been vacant for a number of years, and definitely needs substantial cleanup and rehab, but the bones are great. I own some other property in town, and I'm on good terms with the mayor, city manager, economic development committee, etc, so I think I'll have their support if I can nail down a solid plan. 

My question is, does anyone have experience finding a tenant for such a large building in a smaller town? I'm pretty good at finding lists to reach out to (of manufacturers or similar companies), but I'd like to focus my efforts a bit more if possible. I'd also potentially be interested in partnering up with an experienced industrial investor if it makes sense, since I haven't done something quite this large before. 

There are certainly going to be challenges, but I think there's a lot of opportunity as well if I can get everything lined up. 

Would love to hear any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, partner referrals, etc. Thanks!

[John McKee]

The problem is that you are stuck in a small town which means there is not enough density to support multiple flex space tenants, so you may be stuck trying to find one large tenant.   Make sure you study the demographics and demand closely. Call every broker in town for their opinion.  There might be a reason that this property has been vacant for years.  Not all industrial is hot!  There are some real duds out there.