E-Commerce and Last-Mile Buildings in Forney, Texas

Fulfillment operators who want to serve the east side of Dallas look at Forney because U.S. Route 80 passes through it with four lanes and no cross traffic, so Dallas lies roughly 20 miles west and the town of Terrell roughly 11 miles east. A building here gets a fast run toward customers in the core and a cleaner run than most small cities can offer. We design the building around that approach, with docks and a truck court positioned for the road.

The scale of nearby industrial buildings tells a developer how large this market can get. A 1.2 million square foot distribution center for a tire maker was announced on 102 acres at South Gateway Boulevard and U.S. 80 in 2018, projected to add as many as 160 positions. In December 2021 two developers announced East Gate Logistics Center near the same interchange: 1,272,240 square feet of distribution space, 40 feet clear, with groundbreaking planned for early 2022. Buildings of that size set the benchmark for what e-commerce operators expect in clear height and door count.

Online retail has been part of the picture as well. In August 2020, news reports said a national retailer intended to open a fulfillment center and add 500 jobs, after an earlier promise of a 200,000 square foot delivery station for the last mile. Those two uses, a large fulfillment building and a smaller delivery hub, are the formats we build for, and both fall within what the e-commerce fulfillment industry now asks for from developers.

Site questions that decide a fulfillment building

E-commerce buildings are volume machines, so site design starts with trucks and cars. Fulfillment centers have large employee parking requirements, delivery stations have many vans, and both need separate flows for trailers, vans and personal vehicles. We design access roads, queuing space and gates so one flow does not clog the others.

The city sits roughly 4 miles southeast of Lake Ray Hubbard and covers 15.804 square miles of land. Parcels near drainageways may be constrained by floodplain or detention requirements, and large roofs create a lot of runoff. We study these early and size detention to protect usable land. Soils are another early item: North Texas clay moves with moisture, so we commission a geotechnical report and design slabs and pavements for it, which prevents cracking and rutting later. We also look at utilities, since a million-square-foot building needs substantial power, water for fire protection and sewer capacity. Providers need lead time, so we contact them during feasibility and not after design.

Services that go with an e-commerce building

Fulfillment tenants want mezzanines for pick modules, floors flat enough for automation, high-capacity electrical service and ample dock doors. A fulfillment center build addresses these from the start, and the last-mile parcel hub format adds a van apron and sort floor.

We also coordinate the supporting packages: truck court paving, EV charging infrastructure for vans, security, lighting and roof-mounted equipment. Each affects the schedule and cost, and we price them separately. Electric vehicle charging in particular is easier and cheaper to run as conduit before the pavement is placed, so we ask delivery tenants about fleet plans before the court is poured.

Safety on a large fulfillment site

A large building means a large construction site with heavy equipment, long haul routes and many workers. We plan separation between pedestrians and machinery, designate haul routes, and control access with gates and sign-in procedures. Tilt-up lifts and roof work get written plans that our trade partners follow.

The finished building has its own safety design. ESFR sprinklers for the stored commodity, exits and travel distances for large floor areas, emergency lighting and clear fire lanes all get coordinated with the fire official before construction. Dock safety features such as wheel chocks, vehicle restraints and lighting are specified up front, since they affect how fast trailers can turn.

Why the US 80 corridor attracts fulfillment users

Operators want fast access to a dense customer base, available land and a labor pool. Forney offers a limited-access highway, large parcels and communities growing around it. Tenants near Mesquite, Garland and Dallas often consider the same corridor, and we compare these sites in the same format. Each offers a different mix of land price, drive time and labor, and the same fulfillment plan often fits more than one of them.

For a developer, the long-term case rests on repeated demand from large national users, and for tenants the case rests on delivery speed. We keep both in view while designing speculative or build-to-suit buildings, since the best answer for each differs. A speculative building needs a flexible plan, while a build-to-suit building can be tuned to a single operator's automation and throughput.

Permit and plan review for large buildings

A large building draws a deeper plan review. We assemble structural, civil, architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection drawings as a single package, and we speak with reviewers before submission on any item that may raise questions, such as fire access, sprinkler design or accessibility.

The state's accessibility review adds another layer for projects above a cost threshold. We register plans early and keep the inspection schedule in mind, so that the certificate of occupancy is not delayed by paperwork. For fulfillment users, the occupancy classification also matters because storage of plastics and aerosols changes sprinkler design, and we ask the tenant about their commodity mix at the start.

Build in Forney with us

Share the parcel, the building size and your operating model. We will check access and drainage, draw a layout and give you a budget range.

Common Questions

What clear height do e-commerce buildings need?

Many new buildings use 36 to 40 feet clear, because high racking and automation make the most of the cube. Smaller last-mile buildings may use less. We design to the tenant's system.

How many dock doors should a fulfillment building have?

It depends on throughput and the ratio of inbound to outbound freight. Large buildings often provide a door for every 10,000 square feet or so. We model your volumes and propose a ratio.

Do van-based delivery stations differ from fulfillment centers?

Yes. They have smaller floors, more doors at grade, large parking for vans and sort areas for packages. Our designs separate van flow from trailer flow, and we can build the shell with a speculative approach that serves either one.

Is a speculative building a good idea here?

It can be, particularly when a limited-access highway and large parcels are available, because a developer with a finished shell can capture a tenant that needs to move quickly. The shell should suit more than one user type, which affects clear height, column grid and truck court size.

How do you manage the long lead times on large equipment?

We order critical items early and track shipping dates, so the building is ready when the equipment arrives. Conveyor and sortation vendors need clean, cured slab and power on a date certain, and we confirm those hand-offs in writing with the tenant's team.

Related