Kadean Starts Construction on Hazelwood Expansion

Panattoni Development has greenlit 640,182 square feet of speculative distribution space at its Aviator Business Park in Hazelwood.

Fenton-based contractor Kadean Construction has started work on the space, which will consist of one 224,089-square-foot building and one 416,093-square-foot facility. Each will have 32-foot clear heights and can satisfy one tenant or multiple, with space divisible by as small as 38,000 square feet, according to CBRE, which is marketing Aviator Business Park. Occupancy is slated for this summer.

An investment cost for the project was not disclosed.

“These two new buildings are expanding the opportunities for light industrial companies to join us,” said Mark Branstetter, development partner at Panattoni who oversees development for the company in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

Aviator Business Park, located 1 mile north of St. Louis-Lambert International Airport, is served by Norfolk Southern Railroad and is accessible to interstates 70, 270, 64 and 170. The park is 90% leased with a tenant mix including International Foods, Weekends Only and Silgan Plastics.

The expansion of Aviator Business Park comes amid a building boom within the industrial market in the St. Louis region. North St. Louis County has the second-most ongoing construction of industrial facilities in St. Louis, with roughly 1.4 million square feet of space underway in the third quarter of 2019. North County also saw 635,944 square feet leased in the third quarter, the third highest of all submarkets here, according to the latest research from Cushman & Wakefield.

Though, some in the real estate industry have warned about the industrial market possibly slowing in 2020, especially for spec developments, and Hazelwood becoming at risk of being overbuilt.

“The size of these speculative buildings speaks to the continued growth and strength of the industrial market in St. Louis,” said CBRE’s Katie Haywood, who, along with CBRE’s John Frith, is marketing the properties.

Source: St. Louis Business Journal