Tigerhawk increased its industrial footprint by 140% in Port Houston

Tigerhawk Logistics has more than doubled its presence in an industrial development in Port Houston, one of the city’s drivers of industrial growth.

Tigerhawk has leased just over 325,000 square feet at the Portside Logistics Center, a more than 1 million square foot development led by a joint venture of Principal Asset Management and Stream Realty Partners.

Tigerhawk will move from a separate building on site, where it leases 135,300 square feet. Tigerhawk’s new space “will improve our operational efficiency and allow us to get more work done and improve the delivery time of the goods and services we provide,” said company president Nico Daily.

The Port Logistics Center, located at 4838 and 4908 Borusan Road in Baytown, provides access to major highways and Port Houston’s container terminals. The complex includes a 432,300-square-foot transload building and a 258,240-square-foot front-loading building, both of which are seeking LEED certification.

Port Houston has seen a slight acceleration in industrial development in recent years amid increasing demand. In the first quarter of last year, 6.6 million square feet of new supply was added in the submarket, 56% of which was pre-leased. Approximately 7.7 million square feet of industrial space was under construction and leasing activity totaled 8 million square feet.

Elsewhere in Port Houston, oil and gas company Baker Hughes in March leased 225,000 square feet of industrial space at the Scout Cold logistics center at 10575 Red Bluff Road.

Overall industrial development slowed in the first quarter. About 16.4 million square feet were in the pipeline, a 24 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 56 percent year-over-year decrease across the metro area, according to Partners Real Estate . While average rental rates hit a record high of 79 cents per square foot, the vacancy rate increased 40 basis points to 7.4 percent from the previous quarter.