The growth trend of industrial demand in Mexico is a fact supported by the national total of just over 2 million square meters reported in the first five months of the year. Only Mexico City had an increase of 57% comparing the figures of 1Q 2021 with that of 1Q 2020, an inclination that will continue towards the end of the second quarter.

While the markets of Monterrey, Guadalajara and Tijuana accumulated from January to May 2021 the amounts of 271.3 thousand, 211.7 thousand and 203.5 thousand square meters, respectively.

This year the commitment of developers to large industrial surfaces will continue in the main cities, with which they seek to innovate in design, sizes and services. Changes are also foreseen in the investment portfolios and the validation of business models.

The Meor Group, for example, launched the Hubs Park brand that will carry out projects in Tijuana, Guadalajara, Ciudad Juárez, Monterrey and Mexico City, with a view to developing nearly 400 thousand square meters within a year. Previously, their bet was towards the BTS and they detected that the speculative modality would provide better performance indicators to their portfolio.

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A similar initiative is managed by the Garza Ponce GP Group, which addresses a new concept of industrial park called Pocket Parks with warehouses of 1,000 to 3,000 square meters, within parks with a total area of 20 to 40 thousand square meters.

Another modality that arises is the joint venture of the Canadian ICM Assets Management in conjunction with Alveo Kapital, which after having evaluated the Guadalajara market and specifically the El Salto submarket, decided to launch their real estate product Parque Industrial Santa Rosa on 28 hectares of land.

Cities such as Saltillo, Reynosa, Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez coincide in new projects of flexible spaces with modular sizes, which allow the division for two or more tenants with manufacturing, logistics, storage or distribution of goods.

Construction techniques have also evolved with the increased presence of tilt-up walls that introduced improvements in the maintenance and useful life of the property, valuing long-term profitability above the increase in investment costs.

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At present, the incorporation of elements in favor of energy efficiency such as the use of renewable energies, the sustainable management of natural resources, the use of more and more clean transport without pollutants, the prevention and control of pollution; they are the elements that tenants will value most as favorable when deciding on a property.

Proof of these changes is the recent issuance of Fibra Storage of green bonds, raising 1,500 million pesos, after another real estate investor such as Prologis did it for 375 million USD at the end of 2020 through BBVA. The future will undoubtedly call for profitable and sustainable investments with the environment.