Lower Kirby Business Park: Welcome Group Starts

In Pearland, Texas, Welcome Group, a Houston-based industrial real estate investor and developer, is developing Lower Kirby Business Park, a 25-acre, large-scale planned industrial campus with four buildings and 250,000 SF of industrial space.

The project will be located at 15020 Kirby Drive in Pearland, south of Beltway 8 and west of Highway 288.

The city of Pearland has been success in attracting a significant amount of new development, clean manufacturing, distribution buildings and medical manufacturing, including the Lonza facility which produces clinical and commercial materials for cell and gene therapies. Pearland, which has a population of 130,000, calls the 1,200-acre district the Lower Kirby District.

Pearland’s Lower Kirby District is home to Abbott, Merit Medical, United Imaging and Millar, creating a large collection of pharma and medical-device manufacturing facilities. The district is about 10 miles due south of the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical center with dozens of hospitals and a workplace for some 20,000 doctors and researchers with PhDs.

Welcome Group’s business park is set to feature four tilt-wall industrial buildings designed to accommodate a range of manufacturing, logistics, and distribution users, ranging from approximately 25,000 to 100,000 SF each and featuring clear heights up to 34 feet, abundant power, crane-ready capabilities, and flexible office buildouts. The site plan also allows for future expansion, providing long-term growth opportunities for tenants.

“Lower Kirby Business Park reflects our continued commitment to delivering high-quality industrial developments in strategically connected growth markets,” said Welcome Wilson, Jr., President & CEO of Welcome Group. “We appreciate the partnership and support of the City of Pearland as we move this project forward. Pearland continues to emerge as an important location for manufacturing, logistics, and industrial users seeking access to labor, infrastructure, and regional connectivity. As industrial demand continues to evolve, we believe this project is well-positioned to support a broad range of operational needs across the corridor.”

KDW is handling construction, which will begin this summer. Ryan Wasaff, Brad Berry, and Cole Bercher of Welcome Realty Advisors are leasing the business park, which is 20 miles south of downtown Houston.

A number of new warehouse developments are under construction or have been recently completed along Beltway 8 on the south side of Houston. Many of the new projects are located west of Telephone Road and east of Highway 90. It should be considered one of the top corridors in the nation for newly built distribution buildings.

Founded in 1998 and based in Houston, Welcome Group is a commercial real estate investor and developer focused on industrial real estate across the Boom Belt, spanning Texas and the Southeast. The firm owns and manages more than 9 million SF of manufacturing, laboratory, refrigerated storage, office, medical, warehouse, and distribution properties, with additional development projects in progress. Welcome Group’s portfolio includes more than 115 properties.