Northwest: Clay Starts Spec Project

In Houston, Clay Development & Construction, a Houston firm led by Robert Clay, has begun construction on a 2.3 million-SF industrial development on 172 acres in northwest Houston.

Clay’s development, called Northwest 99 Business Park, is located at the intersection of Grand Parkway/SH99 and Mueschke Road in northwest Harris County. The first two speculative buildings in the development are the 425,360-SF Northwest 99 Distribution I and the 70,000-SF Northwest 99 Spec I.

A Rarity: A Spec Building for Manufacturing

Clay says it’s the first spec manufacturing project in many years.

“Northwest Harris County’s growing, young, working-age population and its 3.25 percent annual income growth make this submarket attractive to industrial businesses, from logistics and last-mile distribution to light manufacturing. The location on SH 99/Grand Parkway means direct access to both residential and commercial customers,” says Clay, president of Clay Development & Construction. “Big box distribution facilities, as well as single-tenant manufacturing buildings, are in demand here. For today’s industrial users, Northwest 99 Business Park provides an ample amount of utility infrastructure in addition to new buildings designed for contemporary distribution and manufacturing operations.”

Mark Nicholas and Will Clay of JLL, as well as Copeland Rhea of Clay Development & Construction, handle leasing of Northwest 99 Distribution I. Ed Frantz, Joseph Smith and Cape Bell of CBRE, and Clay Development’s Copeland Rhea, are brokers for Northwest 99 Spec I manufacturing building.

Northwest Houston has been a significant force in the warehouse sector for decades.

The northwest industrial submarket’s year-to-date vacancy is 5.4 percent; overall Houston market vacancies stand at 6.2 percent.