Think all those warehouses are sitting empty? Think again, county official says

Have you heard the one about all those sprawling new warehouses that have sprouted up around the county being empty?

Jonathan Horowitz says that's just not true.

Horowitz, the county's director of business and economic development, reported to the Washington County Commissioners this week that of the 18 that are in various stages of construction, 11 are fully leased, six have ongoing leasing negotiations and while there were no formal agreements for the other one, realtors report interest from potential tenants.

Horowitz said private investors had targeted Washington County for these developments because of the intersection of Interstates 70 and 81.

"That is the result of private industries' investment of personal capital into a market that they feel confident will provide successful returns," he said.

What is causing the increase in warehouse investment?

Nationally, warehouse investment has risen by 268% in the past 20 years, Horowitz said, "and that is a symptom of consumer habits switching from a retail brick-and-mortar-based environment to an e-commerce environment."

He compared the shift to the changes in shopping habits that led to the development of malls and strip shopping centers in the 1980s and '90s. "All of that capital and all of that investment has been transferred into what our citizens would probably see as large-box, e-commerce type fulfillment centers," he said.

"That is just a shift in consumer habits and that is the private industry responding to that."

While Horowitz focused his report Tuesday on warehouses, he emphasized that there is "development happening in all types of industries across the county."

The 18 buildings Horowitz cited represent "roughly $942 million of investment into our community … of what we consider speculative development."

Speculative development occurs when investors put money into a project even before tenants are lined up.

"That is how confident they are in our community that their money will be deployed correctly," Horowitz said. These investments will translate into about 6,500 jobs, he added.

There are nine more projects in the pipeline, he said, which represent nearly $500 million more in investments and a potential 2,735 jobs.

"Our department works very hard to diversify the tenants that take these buildings," Horowitz said. "We want to make sure that the tenants are of the highest quality, and that the jobs they're creating are of the highest quality, that we can attract into those types of developments."

While the warehouses might appear to be vacant, he said, "they're just in different stages of inhabitation by the clients and the tenants … there's no need to be worried that these buildings will sit empty; they are not sitting empty. They're highly desired."

How do you separate perception from reality?

Commissioner Randy Wagner acknowledged there's been a concern among the public that these buildings might be sitting empty, but he said he believed Horowitz had addressed that concern.

The next question, Wagner said, is how much of Washington County's rural land is being preserved.

Horowitz said that according to Chris Boggs, the county's land preservation planner, nearly 40,000 of the county's almost 300,000 acres are permanently preserved. And 37,000 acres of federal, state and local park land are also preserved. Another 35,000 acres are in a 10-year agricultural district that cannot be developed.

"This means that roughly 112,000 acres, or 37%, of the county's open space is under some form of protection from development," Horowitz said.

The rate of preservation, in fact, has outpaced development, he said.

"I think that's important to point out, that we are very preservation-minded on this board," Wagner said. "I think we all care a lot about it, and I think it gets like we're just gonna tear up every bit of land we can find and put something on it.

"But that's not the case; we're constantly … trying to preserve more land, to the point it's possible we throw more money into more preservation."

Wagner said the commissioners are "not a hard-core bunch that just want big-box buildings everywhere. I don't think anybody really loves 'em, but every time you hit that key, there goes an Amazon truck. And that takes a building."

What are warehouse developments' impact on Washington County residents?

When county officials constantly have to explain about development, Commissioner Wayne Keefer suggested, "it's because the citizens want something else than what's going on in Washington County.

"I think maybe we're on the losing side of that battle and we can keep 'splaining away every couple months, but I think the public sentiment is pretty clear on this issue."

Sometimes residents have tangible problems resulting from some of the development, he said, such as fractures to their homes' foundations resulting from blasting. For help with that, he said, they have to call the state fire marshal.

Another concern, he said, is changes in neighborhoods. And well water is sometimes interrupted. "And whose expense is that?" he said.

"We need to understand there's some ramifications for our citizens. That isn't talked about enough," Keefer said.

Traffic congestion is another concern, Commissioner Derek Harvey said, particularly on Interstate 81. With more warehouses coming, he noted, "we haven't seen the impact of those trucks and the traffic" yet.

And eventually, he said, there will be demand for support services for those warehouses — creating more traffic and infrastructure requirements for local government.

He cautioned that the county needs to be vigilant about preserving agricultural districts because "a certain density" of agricultural activity is needed to sustain the industry.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County's warehouses are filling up, official says