4C — July 12 - 25, 2019 — Pennsylvania — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
www.marej.com
P ennsylvania By Zach Rich, Silvi Group Companies Concrete parking lots in the Northeast?
R
eady mix concrete and the manner in which it is placed and used
is evolving at a rapid pace. Technology, e x p e r t i s e , and the de- sire for prop- erty owners down to the contractors and suppli-
Zach Rich
ers to raise the bar is driving everyone to build projects to higher tolerances at com- petitive rates and on schedule. Automation is having a huge impact across the board as it drives down labor costs and increases productivity. Automation in concrete park- ing lot construction here in the northeast is one of those trends I’ve seen take shape over the last few years. If you travel around to dif- ferent regions of our great country, you’ll find that a lot of parking lot construction utilizes concrete as opposed to asphalt. In markets such as the southeast, southwest and midwest this phenomena cuts across all types of uses such as residential, retail, public, hospitality, commercial, indus- trial, etc. Everything. I don’t think anyone disputes that concrete has more to offer when compared apples to apples to its counterpart asphalt. With all this being said, let’s call it like it is. What’s really holding concrete back in our neck of the woods? Well, I commonly hear labor rates are generally higher in the north- east, installing concrete can take longer than blacktop, and properly designing a concrete parking lot is not as routine. But, the two major knockout serve 40% of the USmarket and 60% of the Canadian popula- tion within a day’s truck drive, makes Central Pennsylvania the logistics sweet spot for these online retailers. So, what are some of the ma- jor differences Central Penn- sylvania is seeing in the region today versus a decade ago? “The difference between warehouses 15 years ago and today are dramatic. Then, owners were looking for a 200,000-400,000 s/f building and parking for 40 to 50 employees. Now, they are
3-D Laser Screed
Real time 3-D contour image merging CAD drawings, field plot points, and the concrete pour placement.
Broom finish applied via the “Kite” Method
and Kearny, NJ 100,000+ s/f each • Campbell Freight-Cranbury, NJ 250,000+ s/f • Co s t c o - Cr anbu r y , NJ 100,000+ s/f • Arizona Iced Tea-Edison, NJ 400,000+ s/f • Adler Development-Edison and Perth Amboy, NJ 100,000+ s/f each • Haddad Brands -South Brunswick, NJ 500,000+ s/f • V. Paulius Development- Carteret, NJ 300,000+ s/f • Halls Trucking-South Plain- field, NJ 250,000+ s/f • Johanna Farms-Flemington, NJ 75,000+ s/f • Jacquet-Limerick, PA 100,000+ s/f • Latshaw Self Storage- Read- ing, PA warehouses, ensuring that they are centrally located to their labor pool. A decade ago, owners concen- trated on various regions out- side of South-Central Pennsyl- vania. Today, they are shifting their focus to properties closer to the region due to a variety of factors. “Owners are targeting more densely populated areas, rich with the necessary skills within the workforce. That is why the York, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and Hanover regions are ideal locations; the added
punches seem to be concrete is just to› costly per s/f at the end of the day, and it doesn’t hold up to the harsh northeast freeze-thaw cycles. I’m seeing market leaders, owners, and tenants that are responsible for the mainte- nance on their respective prop- erties getting more hands on. When concrete parking lots are properly designed and have the right construction team members involved, the upfront installation costs are on par with asphalt and ulti- mately performing at a higher standard over a longer period of time with less maintenance costs. On the construction side of this discussion, the financial numbers work with the use of a laser screed and 3-D pro- filer. Concrete contractors can place upwards of 40,000 s/f per day of drainage pitched and contoured pavement with this looking for 700,000-1,000,000+ s/f buildings and hundreds of parking spaces. Old warehous- es were staffed by employees moving pallets of materials, whereas, with e-commerce em- ployees are needed for receiv- ing, retrieving, packaging, and preparing items for shipment.” Workforce While retail continues to see challenges, the e-commerce sector is projected to continue growing. And it’s proven itself strong, even during slower eco- nomic times. “For example, during the
equipment. Pour widths can be as wide as 100’ and broom finished utilizing a kite finish- ing technique. Curbs can als› be installed with an automated slipform curb machine. Faster and priced right. Concrete mix designs are performing as designed for 30+ years of service life when we utilize proper air entrain- ment, blended aggregates, and quality control technicians at the plant and on-site during installation. The laser screed changed the way interior slab on grades are placed over 30 years ago. Decision makers here in the NJ/Southeast PA area utilize these similar in- stallation techniques and are going with concrete over as- phalt for parking lots. A few of the more recent projects I’ve seen are: • Amazon-Robbinsville, NJ 500,000+ s/f • Preferred Freezer-Elizabeth 2008 recession, e-commerce did not see a negative dip like retail stores experienced,” Hodge said. “As the demand for e-commerce continues to grow, there will be an increase in the labor force that needs to meet the demands of the market for fulfillment.” By 2026, we are projected to see an 80% employment growth in the sector due to the rise of e- commerce. As the need for labor in fulfillment and distribution increases, owners and tenants are giving more consideration to the geographic location of
90,000+ s/f Market leaders are setting a new standard, and they are being rewarded with the fol- lowing benefits: • Lower life cycle cost/yearly maintenance. • 3x the reflectivity of asphalt. › 35% increased lighting. › Enhanced safety for employ- ees, customers, etc. • LEED certification point contribution. (Up to 74 pts.) • HVAC System- Cooling lower temperatures from around the building. › Lower electric bills/Longer HVAC lifespan. • Environmentally friendly. › Storm water runoff- Lower temperature and nontoxic. › Reduced heat island effect. (7-10°F cooler) Zach Rich is the director of concrete promotion and sales for the Silvi Group Companies. value is also our history in manufacturing,” Hodge said. “Whereas, places that are not located near densely populated areas are struggling to find the right labor force.” How ROCK Commercial Real Estate Can Help Tenants are actively looking for places to either expand or start their business. When look- ing for a new building, Hodge notes it is important to have a local brokerage advisor who understands your market and the regional marketplace. continued on page 10C
continued from page 2C E-Commerce’s impact on our Regional Industrial RE . . .
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