CRG Announces The Cubes at Etna East in Columbus, Ohio

COLUMBUS, OHIO – CRG, a national real estate development and investment firm, in partnership with affiliates of Lexington Realty Trust, is developing The Cubes at Etna East, two build-to-suit distribution warehouses totaling up to 1.6 million square feet in Columbus, Ohio.
The 127-acre project is located just south of the interchange of I-70 and State Route 310 in Etna Township, a submarket of Columbus. This site is the second phase of a larger industrial park which includes The Cubes at Etna 70, a 155-acre land development that began infrastructure work in the fall of 2017. The new planned development, which is located across the street from The Cubes at Etna 70, is approved, fully entitled and zoned for industrial.
“This location offered us the perfect place to expand our footprint in the Columbus market,” said Scott Caplan, Senior Vice President, Partner and Ohio Valley lead for CRG. “Future tenants should be excited about the potential for signage along I-70 and the untapped labor market in Etna. We’ve already seen considerable interest in the first phase of the project, and we expect to continue to draw major tenants for these buildings.”
Kohl’s became the first development in the master plan with its 1.2 million-square-foot, build-to-suit distribution center, which broke ground in November 2018. The facility is expected to open in the first quarter of 2021 and is set to bring nearly 700 jobs to the area. The first phase of the master plan at Etna West also includes an 800,000 square foot pad-to-suit, which will finish construction by Sept. 1.
The Cubes at Etna East is CRG’s third industrial project in the Columbus market, including the Kohl’s distribution center and The Cubes at Rickenbacker, a 320,000-square-foot speculative distribution warehouse in Obetz, Ohio.
“We’re developing industrial facilities all over the country to meet the demands of the next generation of industrial user,” said Shawn Clark, President of CRG. “That means we have to build state-of-the-art facilities and find locations like this one that help our investors and our clients maximize their logistics networks and hire the best workers available. That’s what our prospective tenants are going to find here in Columbus.”
CRG is currently developing infrastructure for The Cubes at Etna East, which includes a new road and traffic signal to connect to State Road 310, just south of the five-lane bridge and a two-lane signaled off ramp at I-70. The new interchange is within 100 yards of The Cubes and provides convenient access for warehouse traffic.
In addition to infrastructure work, a small parcel of land will be developed into a truck stop by Love’s Travel Stops with direct access to the two proposed buildings. Additional amenities will include a proposed 15-year full tax abatement for new tenants.
CRG acquired the site in a joint venture with Lexington Realty Trust, a leading U.S. REIT focused on net-leased industrial properties, in December 2019. The firm will develop with its parent company, Clayco, who will serve as the design-builder, while Clayco subsidiary Lamar Johnson Collaborative will serve as architect on the project.
CBRE’s Jeff Lyons and Joseph Kimener are the brokers for the project.
About CRG
CRG is a privately held real estate development firm that has developed more than 8,500 acres of land and delivered over 197 million square feet of commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-family assets exceeding $12 billion in value. CRG, headquartered in St. Louis, leverages a powerful North American platform with local market expertise and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Southern California and Philadelphia. CRG’s philosophy of developing for the future and anticipating the enhanced needs of next generation users led to the creation of its industrial brand, The Cubes, and its multifamily brand, Chapter. For more information, visit CRG’s website at www.realcrg.com.
About The Cubes
The Cubes is a North American industrial brand owned and developed by CRG. The Cubes represents CRG’s philosophy of developing for the future and anticipating the enhanced needs of tomorrow’s modern industrial user. The Cubes are designed with an emphasis on sustainability, and implement state-of-the-art specifications, including maximum clear heights, dock doors and trailer storage to keep pace with the shift to consumer-centric logistic strategies. The Cubes are located on strategic sites that take into consideration both logistics and labor supply, always with the end user in mind.
About Clayco
Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering, and construction firm that safely delivers clients across North America the highest quality solutions on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With $3.25 billion in revenue for 2019, Clayco specializes in the “art and science of building,” providing fast track, efficient solutions for industrial, commercial, institutional and residential related building projects. For more information visit www.claycorp.com