As the growth of online retail continues, customers desire shorter delivery times and companies are searching for ways to meet those desires. In an effort to have an edge over their competitors, companies are using strategically located distribution centers and technology for the solution.
Check out the article below from Bisnow.com that describes how the multistory warehouses located in dense urban areas are being repurposed where it makes more sense to build up than out. Additionally, warehouse automation has moved from traditional conveyor belts to sophisticated robots and vehicles for quicker fulfillment. After reading the article, give us a call at Caton Commercial to discuss your commercial real estate needs.
Source: bisnow.com | Re-Post Caton Commercial 10/12/2017 –
Online delivery has become the norm for many Americans living in urban areas. An average city resident generates approximately 0.1 deliveries per day. In a major city like Chicago, which has a population of 2.7 million, that is a minimum of 270,000 deliveries a day.
Online retailers have turned to urban infill to get closer to their customer base and are looking to former retail, office and even parking structures as potential launching points for distributing goods.
JLL Managing Director Keith Stauber has witnessed the growing number of retailer third-party logistics companies and developers experimenting with adaptive reuse. JLL is working with Millennium Parking Garages LLC, the owner of Downtown Chicago’s Millennium Parking Garage, to repurpose some of the space into an urban fulfillment center, as well as other alternative uses like self-storage. Stretching across 3.8M SF over two floors, Millennium Parking Garage is one of the largest underground parking systems in the world.
As car ownership dwindles, more parking structures have underperforming space.
“Despite its fantastic location, it is actually somewhat under capacity from a parking perspective,” Stauber said. “Because of that, we have to consider how we can maximize revenues for the garage and City of Chicago while also utilizing it to its full potential.”