TOP INDUSTRIAL OWNERS AND DEVELOPERS SURVEY

And the winners are ... Aurora, Colo.-based ProLogis Trust finished first in NREI's 2000 survey of industrial owners, with 148.5 million sq. ft. of industrial space as of Dec. 31, 1999. On the industrial developers front, Sacramento, Calif.-based Panattoni Development Co. took top honors, with nearly 19 million sq. ft. of industrial space under construction at the end of 1999.

One of the year's highlights was the heightened competition among industrial owners and developers in major regional hubs such as Chicago, New York, Dallas, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Industrial owners will continue to battle in these coveted markets in 2000 and beyond as companies seek the efficiencies associated with operating distribution centers out of regional hubs, says John E. Thomas, chief real estate and investment officer for Dallas-based Crow Holdings Industrial Trust. Crow Holdings finished 5th in NREI's ranking of the top industrial owners, with a total of 30 million sq. ft. as of the end of 1999.

"The bigger markets are growing real fast, while the smaller markets are growing at a slower pace," Thomas says. "There's a lot more competition in the big markets." Much like the cities in which they're built, these facilities are growing. Buildings containing 1 million sq. ft. and larger are becoming common, he says.

With the heightened competition to build bigger buildings, along with fairly stagnant rent rates, "yields are being squeezed in the bigger markets," Thomas notes. Consequently, speculative construction is becoming a risky proposition these days, industry professionals say.

E-commerce left its mark on industrial projects in 1999. Both owners and developers face new challenges when financing dot.com businesses, says Greg Gregory, president and CEO for Atlanta-based Industrial Developments International (IDI), whose firm finished in second place on the Top 10 Industrial Developers Survey with 15.5 million sq. ft. under construction in 1999.

"Our challenge is how to underwrite them [the dot.coms], how to determine what the risk is and how to do business with them," Gregory says. (For more information about IDI, please turn to a profile that begins on Page 48.)

Survey rankings were based on totals listed in company square feet as of Dec. 31, 1999. More specifically, owners were asked to record the amount of square feet in their portfolios as of Dec. 31, 1999. Developers, meanwhile, were asked to record their volume of activity for the calendar year. Questions regarding the survey should be directed to Editor Matt Valley at 770-618-0215.

Top 25 Industrial Owners 1. ProLogis Trust 14100 E. 35th Pl.

Aurora, CO 80011

Tel: 303 375-9292; FAX: 303 375-8581

Website: www.prologis.com

Industrial sq. ft. for 1999: 148,500,000

Officers: K. Dane Brooksher, Chrmn./CEO; Irving F. (Bud) Lyons III, Pres./CIO; Walter C. Rakowich, CFO; Jeffrey H. Schwartz, Vice Chrmn./Mng. Dir.; John W. Seiple, Mng. Dir./COO North America; Robert J. Watson, Mng. Dir./COO, Europe

2. Duke-Weeks Realty Corp. 8888 Keystone Crossing, Ste. 1200

Indianapolis, IN 46217

Tel: 317 808-6000; FAX: 317 808-6786

TOP INDUSTRIAL OWNERS AND DEVELOPERS SURVEY

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