TriStar, partnership begin construction of $25 million spec building in Gateway

TriStar Properties, in partnership with PCCP, LLC, has begun construction of a $25 million, 673,127 square foot speculative distribution center at the Gateway Commerce Center in Pontoon Beach.

The Gateway RT Distribution Center will be built by the joint venture of Propper Construction Services and S.M. Wilson & Co. A groundbreaking event with local and state officials will be held at the site to celebrate the start of construction.

The project will include development of the approximate 44-acre site and construction of a tilt-up distribution facility with 90 truck bays, a heat-reflective and energy efficient thermoplastic polyolefin roof and design/build mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems. The Class A modern bulk building will have expansion capabilities to more than 1.3 million square feet.

“This is the first large ‘spec’ industrial building to be built in the St. Louis area since 2007, and it is a sign of our optimism on the area’s economy and on Gateway Commerce Center’s strength as a strategic logistical location for large companies,” said Mike Towerman, president of TriStar Properties. “Gateway currently has no vacancy and we’ve received interest from prospective tenants already.”

TriStar recently acquired the ground on which the Gateway RT Distribution Center is being constructed. It adjoins Unilever’s 1.2 million square foot building and represents the final parcel TriStar needed to acquire to complete its original vision for Gateway that dates back to 1996. Cassidy Turley will provide leasing services for the Gateway RT Distribution Center.

The project is scheduled for completion in early 2015. The Propper/Wilson Joint Venture is providing general contracting services for the project, and M & H Architects is the project’s architect.

The 2,300-acre Gateway Commerce Center is the premier business distribution park in the metropolitan St. Louis area with more than 10 million square feet of leased space. It is situated at the intersection of Interstate 270 and Interstate 255 and is home to leading corporate tenants such as Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Ozburn-Hessey Logistics and Hershey. S.M. Wilson built the park’s first project, an 812,000-square-foot warehouse for Dial Corporation, in 1997.

TriStar Properties, was founded by Rodney Thomas and Michael Towerman in 1996 to develop industrial real estate. Since its inception in 1996, TriStar and its principals, operating through affiliated partnerships, have developed numerous large business parks with total acreage of over 30,000 acres, as well as purchased and resold over 2,900 acres of residential land. During this time, TriStar has purchased or developed over 1.5 million square feet of office buildings, built or sold land for the development of over 1.2 million square feet of retail space, and developed or sold land for the construction of over 10 million square feet of warehouses and distribution centers. TriStar’s current projects include virtually all real estate asset classes.

PCCP, LLC is a real estate finance and investment management firm focused on commercial real estate debt and equity investments. PCCP has more than $6 billion in assets under management on behalf of institutional investors. It has offices in New York, San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles.

Propper Construction Services provides a range of construction management services for projects on a national basis. Founded earlier this year, Propper Construction Services is an affiliate of St. Louis-based Propper International. Propper International is one of the largest official suppliers of apparel to the United States armed forces, and also manufactures high-quality apparel for the commercial military, tactical, law enforcement and public safety markets. For more information, visit www.propper.com.

S.M. Wilson is a construction -anagement, design/build and general contracting firm with headquarters in St. Louis and Rollins Construction Co. LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of S.M. Wilson, in Indianapolis. S. M. Wilson is one of the largest general construction and construction management firms in the St. Louis area. The company posted $250 million in 2013 revenues, and ranks 232nd in Engineering News-Record’s 2013 list of Top 400 commercial contractors nationwide. For more information, visit www.smwilson.com.