Huge freight hub planned for Dayton logistics park

Gulf Inland Logistics Park provides access to the two largest Class I railroads in the U.S.

Logistics & Development Resources' Marcus Goering and Connor Investment's Paul Connor with 2264 Highway 146 S. (LinkedIn, Connor Investment Real Estate, Google Maps)
Logistics & Development Resources' Marcus Goering and Connor Investment's Paul Connor with 2264 Highway 146 S. (LinkedIn, Connor Investment Real Estate, Google Maps)

Liberty Development Partners, a joint venture between two Houston area companies, has bought its second industrial park off Highway 90 with plans to create a massive transportation and logistics hub.

Houston-based Connor Investment Real Estate and Dayton-based Logistics & Development Resources just acquired Gulf Inland Logistics Park. The 1,158-acre rail-served industrial property is located on Highway 146 South in Dayton— a little under an hour away from downtown Houston. The logistics park provides access to the two largest Class I railroads in the U.S.: the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad.

Also included in the deal was the CMC Railroad entity, a Class III railroad that owned and operated within Gulf Inland Logistics Park.

The acquisition was announced in a July 11 press release that also detailed the joint venture’s earlier purchase of an adjacent 200-acre site. Cushman & Wakefield brokered the sale.

The joint venture plans to turn the space into a “valuable hub for the region’s transportation, industrial and manufacturing industries,” Paul Connor, Principal of Connor Investment Real Estate, said in a statement.

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Logistics and Development Resources president Marcus Goering, who has been involved with the project since 2008, said the ultimate plan for the property is to create a, “master-planned rail-served industrial and transportation park.”

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Trez Capital provided a $66.5 million loan for the purchase and will facilitate the first phase of development, according to the release. The first phase will include expanding the surrounding roads to accommodate heavy haul trucks and to improve Gulf Inland’s connection to Highway 90.

“The industrial market is one of Houston’s strongest real estate sectors with exponential demand and growth,” said John Sullivan, Vice President of Trez Capital. In 2021, Houston added more than 17 million square feet of new industrial space, putting it behind only Dallas-Fort Worth, which added 24 million square feet, and Chicago, which added 23.9 million square feet, according to a recent report from CommercialSearch.

Houston is one of the biggest metros along the Gulf Coast and long been known for its industrial workforce. However, the influx of its tech sector has shifted its demographics and now some developers are repurposing old industrial corridors to accommodate more white collar residents.