New logistics centers boost Virginia’s supply chain edge

This year, four major distribution centers across Virginia are set to open their doors to businesses seeking an East Coast hub for their supply chain operations.

Three are situated in the Hampton Roads area, reinforcing the region’s position as a key logistics hub. The Hampton Logistics Center in Hampton, Port 460 Logistics Center in Suffolk, and Amazon’s high-tech fulfillment center in Virginia Beach are strategically located near the Port of Virginia, facilitating efficient distribution networks, while the Whitepine Logistics Center in Chesterfield County will provide access to 75% of the U.S. population within two days’ drive.

Last summer, two real estate development firms started construction on two Class A industrial warehouses at the Hampton Logistics Center, which are on track for completion by the end of the year, according to Gregg Christoffersen, a JLL managing director who is in charge of leasing the buildings. The $70 million project includes a 230,874-square-foot warehouse expected to be finished in September, and a second, 275,685-square-foot building expected to be done by December or January 2026.

Developers Turnbridge Equities and Manekin say that both buildings will have 185-foot rear-load truck courts and a 36-foot clear height, as well as LEED Gold certification, a first for an industrial development in Hampton Roads. It’s less than 20 minutes away from the Port of Virginia’s ocean terminals.

In Suffolk, the 500-acre Port 460 Logistics Center is on schedule for completion of its first phase by October, according to Christoffersen.

A joint venture between Rockefeller Group and Matan Cos. estimated at about $420 million, Port 460 is set to deliver  2.4 million square feet of industrial space across five buildings in its first phase. A subsequent phase will add an additional 2.6 million square feet, bringing the total development to approximately 5 million square feet. According to a statement by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Port 460 will support over 9,000 jobs when fully built out.

Like the Hampton Logistics Center, Port 460 will offer tenants easy access to all major metropolitan areas of the Eastern Seaboard and direct access to the Port of Virginia, appealing to businesses seeking efficient logistics solutions.

“With what we expect to be an improving economy coupled with growth of the port, we are seeing good traction for new speculative distribution and logistic centers in the Hampton Roads market,” says Christoffersen, who is also leasing Port 460.

In nearby Virginia Beach, Amazon is finishing work on its 650,000-square-foot fulfillment center, the second part of a $350 million project that includes a 219,000-square-foot delivery station that opened last year. The fulfillment center will be run via robotics — although humans will be employed, Amazon says — and will include five floors with 55 loading docks.

An Amazon regional spokesperson says that robots will move and store items and pick and pack orders for shipment, working alongside human workers to efficiently fulfill orders, like Amazon’s robotics fulfillment center built in Suffolk in 2022.

Meanwhile, Chesterfield County’s 100-acre Whitepine Logistics Center, another Class A industrial project, is also set to welcome tenants by October, according to Muscoe Garnett, a JLL managing director. JLL Capital Markets secured $34 million in construction financing last year for developers Mixson Properties, Frampton Strategy Group and Singerman Real Estate.

Based a few miles off Interstate 95, Whitepine has three buildings totaling 498,000 square feet, including 32-foot clear heights and front-parked, rear-loaded tilt-wall construction.

In addition to these projects, Target announced in March it will build a 1.4 million-square-foot center in New Kent County in the New Kent City Center development, and the 275-acre Staunton Crossing industrial property at the former Western State Hospital site is expected to be ready for full occupancy in 2026, city officials say.