Link Logistics Plots Huge Project Near Tesla Gigafactory

The industrial arm of Blackstone is chugging along with a massive development near Tesla’s gigafactory in far East Austin.

Link Logistics is gearing up for Juniper Crossing, a four-building industrial complex totaling more than 1 million square feet across 127 acres at 11902 Farm-to-Market Road 969, the Austin Business Journal reported.

Link Logistics bought the land in 2021 and filed preliminary plans a year later, although details have been lacking until now.

Far East Austin, the site for Juniper Crossing, is among the fastest-growing areas in the city, driven largely by the industrial boom sparked by Tesla’s gigafactory. The area’s growth has attracted numerous industrial developers. For example, Sansone Group is spearheading a 1 million-square-foot industrial project on the same rural block as Link Logistics.

East and Southeast Austin, stretching from north of the Tesla facility to the areas around Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, is considered ripe for development. Many ongoing projects in these areas are centered on industrial use, spurred by the presence of Tesla and its suppliers.

Other notable projects include Houston-based Patrinely Group and Realterm’s 439,000-square-foot development off McAngus Road; Brookfield Properties’ 53-acre industrial park north of McKinney Falls State Park; and Stream Realty Partners’ 413,000-square-foot project north of the airport. In addition, Stoneridge Capital Partners is developing a 453,700-square-foot project, called Colorado Bend, east of the airport.

North of Austin, Link Logistics is developing a $28 million, three-building complex totalling 370,000 square feet in Round Rock. The firm is also nearing completion of Settlers Grove, a $38 million, 631,000-square-foot warehouse project also in Round Rock.

Austin’s industrial market showed sustained leasing activity and a thriving construction pipeline in the first quarter, according to Avison Young. The metro’s industrial vacancy sat at 13.5 percent in the first quarter. About 8.7 million square feet of industrial space has been delivered to the Far Northeast market since 2016.

—Quinn Donoghue