GM Parts Facility Gets a New Life

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Tuesday, September 26, 2006
By Christopher Boyce

Duke Realty Corp. said Monday that it has started demolishing the former General Motors Corp. parts facility in Hazelwood to build a 528,000-square-foot industrial distribution center.

Indianapolis-based Duke bought the 25-acre site for $5 million in April from GM, which closed the facility in May.

Construction on the new $30 million building at 5801 North Lindbergh Boulevard is expected to be complete by June 2007, said Jon Hinds, vice president of industrial leasing for Duke.

Hinds said the building could be divided among four tenants but is more likely to attract one or two. The project is being developed without tenants signed, but Hinds said some inquiries from companies have begun.

The one-story building will feature a 32-foot ceiling, trailer docks on two sides of the building and parking for 70 trailers and 160 cars. Hinds said Duke will adjust specifications for trailer docks and other needs per client request.

Hinds was unconcerned about developing the building on a speculative basis, because he said there are no other facilities of the same scale being developed to create competition.

North St. Louis County, he said, "has traditionally been the hub for distribution in the St. Louis metro area," Hinds said. "There are very few Class A modern facilities."

While the Gateway Commerce Center in Madison County has become a popular local choice for distribution centers, Hinds said companies would be attracted to Missouri to draw from its large employee base.

But what may be more important is the location and flexibility of the new facility, said Ik-whan Kwon, director of the Consortium for Supply Chain Management Studies at the Cook School of Business at St. Louis University.

Kwon said the demand exists for a large distribution center as long as it has easy access to interstate highways and adaptability for information technology needs.

The Duke facility is about a mile south of Interstate 270.

"Logistics costs are increasing rapidly due to truck driver shortages and gas prices increasing, so companies are looking for the best locations," said Kwon.

Hinds said Duke has also been keeping watch on the Ford facility in Hazelwood, as are many developers, since it closed in March. Like those developers, Hinds said Duke is waiting to hear what Ford will do with the plant.

cboyce@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8345