Time is a precious commodity. We all get the same dose every day, but once it is gone it is gone. We often get requests for the impossible. “Can you build a 400,000 square foot building for us in three weeks?” The answer to that request is, “No.” The important follow-up is what we are able to provide.
We recently had such a request from Polaris Manufacturing in Huntsville, Alabama. We are just a couple of miles from their assembly plant, so they were already familiar with the Hollingsworth Companies. They knew we had started construction on a 404,738 SF warehouse, but they needed to be in the space by the end of the year; and, our building wasn’t scheduled to be finished until Q3 2021. The location was perfect, but the timing just didn’t work. So, they looked for other options in town. They found an option that could work, but there were “issues” that made the possibility problematic.
The Hollingsworth Companies started the SouthPoint Business Park in Huntsville, AL in 1999. We acquired the land, rezoned the property, installed industrial grade utilities to the site, and began building speculative industrial buildings starting with a 108,960 SF building. The number of facilities we have built in SouthPoint is now ten, totaling 1,557,868 SF. That is twenty years of preparation for success. With the increased demand for suppliers to locate close to Mazda-Toyota and Polaris, the Hollingsworth Companies took the unprecedented decision to keep two speculative industrial buildings available for immediate occupancy. We had just completed two facilities at 109,080 SF and another at 173,888 SF to meet our goal. Before we had even completed construction on these facilities, we went even further to start construction on the 404,738 SF facility. We took these steps to be prepared for opportunities that might arise. Then, when the other option for Polaris hit a dead-end, they asked the impossible; and, we had alternatives.
We couldn’t complete the 404,738 SF building in three weeks, but we could get them into our other two completed buildings totaling 282,968 SF in two weeks; and, when the 404,738 SF building is completed, they can move to it and cancel the leases of the other two facilities! And, to help them with the costs of moving twice, we offered the two short-term facilities at steep discounts. This was in the realm of the possible! Polaris and their entire corporate team worked through the Christmas holidays to complete the leases and start moving product! It pays to be prepared.
