The Alabama Port Authority’s investments throughout Alabama and the major port and industrial developments in Louisiana are driving regional growth. There is a renewed interest in speculative development in the tertiary markets along the Gulf Coast, with over 1.5 million square feet entering the market in time for Mardi Gras – no matter where you celebrate it.

Port of Mobile – Alabama Port Authority

The Port of Mobile is nearing completion on the Phase IV expansion project expanding container capacity at its terminal to over one million TEUs annually. This is the most recent in a series of investments of over $1 billion since 2008 in partnership with APM Terminals to meet the demand for more containers through the port docks. The separate joint venture between CSX railroad and the Alabama Port Authority to construct inland intermodal transfer facilities (ICTF) in Montgomery, Alabama, and Decatur, Alabama, has proven impactful well north of the coast as well. These continued investments will remain a catalyst for growth throughout much of the Alabama industrial market.

An example of the impact that growing container volumes can have on the regional demand for industrial space is the South Alabama Logistics Park, developed by the Burton Property Group in Mobile, Alabama. This 1,300-acre park within 12 interstate miles of the Port of Mobile container terminal has seen successful leasing and development of over one million square feet of distribution center space in the past few years, with designs on delivering over six million square feet as the market demands it.

Lower Mississippi River Developments

Traditionally, the south Louisiana market of industrial space has been fed by a petrochemical, manufacturing and logistics base, rather than a consumer-driven need for regional distribution centers. Consequently, no speculative distribution center development of note has occurred in several decades. However, recent port investments and heavy industrial project announcements and completions have spurred the first bouts of speculative development in the region.

A few projects of note include:

• Venture Global’s $21 billion LNG export terminal in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
• The Port of New Orleans’ $1.8 billion Louisiana International Terminal project in Violet, Louisiana, promises to deliver a new two-million-TEU-capacity container terminal.
• Woodland Biofuels’ $1.35 billion renewable fuels project on the Port of South Louisiana’s Globalplex site in Reserve, Louisiana.
• Agile Coast Developers constructing a 125,000-square-foot speculative distribution center in Luling, Louisiana, with a delivery date in Q1 2025.
• Industrial Realty Group’s mostly speculative development of 250,000 square feet of advanced manufacturing and distribution space in Propel Park on NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, in New Orleans, Louisiana, with plans to deliver 1.3 million square feet.