Chattanooga's newest industrial park has landed its second major distribution operation in as many months.
DB Schenker, one of the biggest international logistics companies in the world, plans to expand its operations into part of a new 189,000-square-foot warehouse building, in the North River Commerce Park in Hixson. The German-based shipping company is relocating its Chattanooga distribution facility from the Yerby Commerce Center near Montague Park into a bigger warehouse complex erected on part of the former DuPont nylon plant on North Access Road.
Home Depot Inc. recently began moving into the same building on North Access Road, known as Building 100, with a 60,800-square-foot distribution facility to service its stores in the region. DB Schenker is leasing 75,000 square feet in Building 100 and will begin moving into the new Hixson complex this weekend.
John Tugman, vice president of brokerage services at Rise Partners, which is developing the industrial park, said the two distribution tenants will fill three-fourths of the first building erected at the industrial park. Tugman and Rise Partners Managing Partner Matt Phillips both said they are talking with other tenants and hope to soon fill Building 100 as well as a similar-sized warehouse structure, Building 200, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.
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"To have Building 100 just delivered and to already achieve a 75% occupancy speaks volumes about the exceptional quality and prime positioning of North River Commerce Center," Tugman said in an announcement of the project's latest tenant Friday. "It is also a resounding endorsement of the growing demand for top-tier Class A industrial space in the vibrant Chattanooga market."
DB Schenker is a division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn that focuses on logistics. The company was acquired by Deutsche Bahn as Schenker-Stinnes in 2002 and operates a smaller Chattanooga warehouse complex on Polk Street in the Yerby Warehouse Park, which Rise Partners also bought earlier this year.
Tugman said he anticipates DB Schenker to open and be in full operation at the North River Commerce Park by the first quarter of 2024.
Rise Partners acquired the 88-acre site last year from Kordsa, which took over part of the former DuPont nylon production plant after it shut down in 2015 after 60 years of production. DuPont was once the largest manufacturing employer in Chattanooga with more than 5,000 employees.
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The first of four warehouse and industrial buildings that Rise Partners plans to build on the site was completed a month ago.
The North River Commerce Center is the biggest new industrial park in Chattanooga since Volkswagen located in the Enterprise South Industrial Park more than a decade ago. The 88-acre complex will be one of the biggest privately owned industrial parks ever developed in Chattanooga.
The city and Hamilton County agreed earlier this year to create a special tax zone, known as a tax increment financing district, to allow a portion of the increased tax revenues generated by the new development to pay for roads, sewers and other infrastructure improvements on the Hixson site.
When fully developed, the industrial park is expected to bring more than $100 million of new investment and add at least 600 more jobs, Phillips said.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.
Staff Photo by Dave Flessner / The North River Commerce Park, which is being built on 88 acres of the former DuPont nylon plant site on North Access Road in Hixson, will add a second industrial and warehouse building, seen in the background here, by the end of the year. The industrial park was photographed Sept. 23.