TexAmericas Center (TAC) recently announced the completion of a new and innovative speculative (spec) building at its campus in Texarkana.
The 150,000-square-foot building on 24 acres is the first new building in the industrial park in 15 years and is now ready for new tenants to occupy the space.
“This building is a driver of economic development and a new chapter for regional growth in our area,” said Scott Norton, Executive Director and CEO of TexAmericas Center. “Hard work and forward thinking bring us to the next chapter for TexAmericas Center and the entire region as a whole. Completing the spec building reflects growing momentum and our confidence in opportunities.”
TexAmericas Center leaders worked with other community economic development professionals to plan the building, which includes features that are attractive to potential tenants, is flexible across a variety of industries, and scalable to meet a host of needs. The building is designed as a multitenant, mixed-use facility with 32-foot clear height ceilings, one dock door per 5,000 square feet, and two drive-in doors. The building will accommodate uses like large warehousing inventory akin to what you would find in a large metro market with the capability to subdivide down to 13,000-square-foot units as needed.
“The spec building brings immediate value to the region while laying the foundation for continued growth in terms of business activity, job creation, innovation, and more,” Norton said.
Tenants that use the spec building can take advantage of the impressive transportation corridor that includes multiple state highways, interstates, air freight, and rail lines. Additionally, new companies have access to skilled workers from a wide range of schools in the Texarkana area.
“The potential is endless for tenants who utilize the spec building and the complementing resources in the Texarkana region,” said Eric Voyles, Executive Vice President and Chief Economic Development Officer with TexAmericas Center. “We developed this project with the future in mind. We are so excited to welcome new industries and new jobs to the region, as well as help our current tenants grow.”
The spec building is another major accomplishment in a series of successes for TexAmericas Center. Recently, the company was awarded an $864,550 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to construct new rail facilities and repair existing ones. The grant is expected to create more than 150 jobs and expand operations within the TexAmericas Center footprint.
Beyond robust rail and construction activity, TexAmericas Center’s remediation efforts also are proving its commitment to supporting businesses and inviting industries to the region. Earlier in 2021, TexAmericas Center successfully completed remediating 6,800 acres of land through the United States Army’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit. The comprehensive remediation efforts began in 2010 and required a lengthy process to ensure all standards and assurances were met correctly and completely. Now, the nearly 7,000 acres of shovel-ready land can be complemented by other attractive features, including the spec building.
TexAmericas Center is fulfilling its mission as a catalyst of economic investment in the Texarkana region. Since May 2014, it has increased its total leased square footage by more than 85 percent to more than 1 million square feet. Its 12,000 acres and 3.5 million square feet of space is fully entitled, providing potential tenants of specialized industries options that would be difficult or cost-prohibitive to secure in other regions. Its location in the Texarkana metropolitan area offers an attractive pipeline of talent and a logistics network to rival many larger – and therefore more expensive – urban hubs. Additionally, TexAmericas Center offers a complement of unique assets like industrial-grade utilities including fiber, rail, third-party logistics services, and a transload facility.