City's industrial market stays sturdy
Oklahoma City's industrial market stays sturdy

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By Richard Mize

Published: September 20, 2008

The Oklahoma City industrial property market is still strapping despite growing national economic weaknesses including a historic credit crisis, "near-recession” and record energy prices, Price Edwards & Co. reported in its midyear summary.

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The sector is strong and experiencing "limited availability in most product types and active speculative development” in smaller single-tenant buildings, the firm said.

Bulk warehouse vacancy dropped to 11 percent overall and 5 percent in the southwest sector in the first half of the year.

"This is all the more remarkable remembering that in 2004 the southwest submarket was 27 percent vacant,” Price Edwards said.

Kansas-based Big Industrial's conversion of the former Bridgetone/Firestone Dayton Tire factory at 2500 S Council Road into multitenant space for lease was especially timely.

"Given the current lending climate, it is unlikely that speculative construction will become active in the near term and this redevelopment may become an important factor in Oklahoma City's ability to support space demands,” Price Edwards said.

Price Edwards' forecast?

Big Industrial's addition of 1.3 million square feet of bulk warehouse space to the market "will project false negative absorption numbers in the foreseeable future” — that is, make it appear as if occupancy dropped in real terms when actually new leasable space became available, the firm said.