Xceligent: Vital Farms opening among biggest Q3 moves

RELATED

From the Ground Up: Vital Farms

Austin, Texas-based Vital Farms this month plans to ceremonially open its largest plant to date and its first in the Show-Me State.

The launch of the 82,140-square-foot plant on 11 acres in Partnership Industrial Center West is among the biggest commercial real estate moves Xceligent’s third-quarter Market Trends report.

The plant marks the second-largest positive absorption in the quarter among the industrial, office and retail sectors studied by Xceligent in the Springfield area.

Officials with Vital Farms are planning a 3 p.m. Oct. 18 ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by tours. The 2007 N. Alliance Ave. development, built by Branco Enterprises Inc. and designed by Buxton Kubik Dodd Creative, cost roughly $6 million, according to a city permit, and is expected to create 50 full-time jobs in its first year.

The industrial plant has egg processing, grading, quality inspection, packing and transportation operations for the company that supplies 6,000 retailers, including Whole Foods Market, Target and Kroger, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

The largest third-quarter movement in the Springfield market also was in the industrial sector, according to commercial real estate tracker Xceligent.

During the three-month period, Mercy Springfield Communities’ $10 million, 100,000-square-foot center for its supply management division Resource Optimization & Innovation was completed, according to the report.

Nearly 100 people are expected to work at the center, where custom surgical packs are being produced, according to SBJ archives.

Other third-quarter commercial highlights noted by Xceligent:
    •    Warren Davis Properties’ $1.78 million purchase in September of a 30,000-square-foot building at 2651 N. Eastgate Ave. that Keebler vacated that month;
    •    Jacksonville, Florida-based One Call Care Management’s move into 32,208 square feet of the Davis Properties-owned former UnitedHealthcare building;
    •    Everest College exiting 28,061 square feet at 1010 W. Sunshine St.; and
    •    roughly 65,000 square feet of positive absorption at Springfield Plaza shopping center.

The direct vacancy rates — defined as the total square footage being marketed by the agent representing the landlord — moved up to 3.9 percent from 3.8 percent for the industrial sector, dropped to 6.5 percent from 8.7 percent in office and rose to 5.9 percent from 4.9 percent in retail, according to Xceligent.