Houston-based Triten Real Estate Partners has broken ground on its newest industrial project, a 171,000-square-foot distribution center near George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).

The company acquired the 8.4-acre tract on the southwest corner of McKay Drive and McKay Center Drive from a private landowner in July and started construction late last month, said Will Hedges, partner at Triten.

He declined to disclose the seller or purchase price. The property's market value as of January 2024 is nearly $1.5 million, according to the Harris Central Appraisal District.

Method Architecture designed the warehouse, and Angler Construction is the general contractor. Grey Wolf Engineers is the civil engineer for the project. All three companies are based in the Houston area.

The facility is expected to be completed next summer. It will include 41 dock-high doors, end-cap offices, two ramps, trailer parking and fenced truck courts for outdoor storage.

It is designed for between one and three tenants ranging from 50,000 to the whole 171,000 square feet, including separate truck entries.

The idea is to meet potential tenants where the demand is. The majority of companies need less warehouse space, Hedges said, adding that 83% of industrial leases signed in Greater Houston in the fourth quarter of 2023 were for 250,000 square feet or less.

“The amount of supply has been a bit muted for this tenant base,” he said. “These buildings are just generally getting a lot larger, and that's what developers have chosen to deliver. We're really focused on infill locations catering to the deepest and most active part of the tenant base.”

With the property being so close to Bush Airport's cargo terminal, he expects to attract some air freight-related companies.

Jason Dillee, Cape Bell and Savannah Smith of CBRE are in charge of leasing.

Triten currently has more than 1 million square feet of industrial projects under development in Greater Houston, Hedges said, adding that more projects will be announced soon.

This past summer, the company sold the 343,760-square-foot Pederson Logistics Center after leasing it to Taiwan-based Johnson Health Tech last November.

Meanwhile, Triten’s mixed-use and multifamily division, in partnership with Houston-based Radom Capital, developed M-K-T, the adaptive reuse of five industrial buildings on 12 acres in the Heights, now home to office, retail, food, fitness and service tenants.

The joint venture also plans to turn the former Swift and Co. refinery complex next to M-K-T into a 60,000-square-foot mix of retail and creative office space and up to six restaurants.

Triten is applying its experience from these redevelopments to its industrial platform as well, Hedges said.

“You could take some more challenging sites that take a little bit more engineering or a little bit more experience to be able to unlock those opportunities,” he said.