CT Realty's Rob Huthnance on Industrial Real Estate's Next Growth Phase

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17 Apr 2025

“We have an optimistic view of the future,” says Rob Huthnance, newly appointed President of CT Realty, a company at the forefront of industrial real estate development across the United States. With over 15 years at the company and a background as a longtime Prologis executive, Huthnance is guiding CT Realty through what promises to be an aggressive expansion phase following a period of relative quiet in the industrial sector.

The E-Commerce Revolution Driving Industrial Growth

The explosive growth of e-commerce has fundamentally transformed the industrial real estate landscape. “Fifteen years ago, the percentage of U.S. sales transacted electronically was about 5%. Today, that number is north of 25%, probably growing to 40%,” notes Huthnance.

This shift in consumer behavior has created unprecedented demand for logistics infrastructure. “Every incremental dollar of retail sales transactions that’s traded electronically, that product comes out of warehouses like ours, rather than retail stores,” Huthnance explains. “So there’s been an unusual surge of demand for what we build.”

CT Realty has strategically positioned itself at the larger end of the industrial development spectrum, with most of their buildings ranging between 500,000 and one million square feet. This focus has attracted major tenants including large retailers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) who require substantial space for their operations.

A Legacy of Growth and Adaptation

CT Realty celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, marking three decades of evolution and strategic focus. For the past 15 years, the company has concentrated exclusively on the industrial sector, with the last decade primarily dedicated to ground-up development of large-scale logistics facilities.

“Our first development outside of Southern California was a large 550-acre transaction here in Dallas that subsequently was built out to 9 million square feet of warehouse space,” Huthnance explains. From there, CT Realty expanded its footprint nationally, establishing operations in key logistics markets including Atlanta, Indianapolis, Columbus, New Jersey, Jacksonville, Chicago, and throughout Florida.

This expansion has been substantial by any measure. To date, CT Realty has developed over $8 billion in total development value across 35 million square feet of industrial space, with significantly more in the pipeline ready for development.

The ANDURIL Industries Deal: A Landmark Transaction

One of CT Realty’s most significant recent achievements is their partnership with ANDURIL Industries, a defense technology manufacturer. The deal, announced in late March, involves the development of a 5.2 million square foot manufacturing campus in Ohio.

“That was a very sophisticated user who went across the country, looking for the ideal development site for what will be a several billion dollar facility,” Huthnance explains. ANDURIL Industries had specific requirements: approximately 500 acres of development-ready land, proximity to a significant airfield, and a pro-development state willing to support a major new employer.

The scale of this project is remarkable. The 4,000 jobs created and new campus efforts are considered the largest single job creation event in the history of Ohio.

The first phase of the project, a building completed in October, is currently undergoing tenant improvements to support ANDURIL’s manufacturing activities. Construction on the next phase—a 924,000 square foot facility—will commence this summer. When complete, the 5.2 million square foot campus will represent a combined investment approaching $2 billion between CT Realty and ANDURIL Industries.

Market Outlook: Poised for Growth

After a period of reduced activity in the industrial sector, CT Realty sees significant opportunity ahead. “Looking out three to five years, partially driven by the relative fall off in activity in 2022, 2023, and 2024—last year, less than half of the annual square footage that’s historically been built on average per year across the country was originated,” Huthnance notes. “So we expect to see a big shortage of the types of buildings that we build in 2026 and 2027.”

This anticipated shortage has CT Realty aggressively pursuing new opportunities. “We have a very active team out right now canvassing multiple markets around the United States. We currently have active CT development projects in 17 markets and see rebounding tenant demand, strong institutional investor appetites and decreasing construction costs, all of which make for a healthy outlook.”

Tariffs and Construction Costs: Limited Impact Expected

Recent concerns about tariffs and their potential impact on construction costs appear to be manageable from CT Realty’s perspective. After conducting detailed analysis with their construction partners, they’ve determined that even a 25% tariff across all sectors would result in less than a 3.75-5% gross increase in cost for a typical building they construct.

This relatively modest impact is due to the domestic sourcing of major construction materials. “The concrete components—the rock, the cement, sand, and water—is a domestic product, and that’s certainly the largest raw material that is utilized,” explains Watson. “Steel would be second. And there’s still a lot of steel production capacity that exists domestically right now, throughout the United States.”

Looking Ahead

With Rob Huthnance now as President working alongside Watty Watson who continues as active Managing Partner and CEO, CT Realty is positioned for its next phase of growth. This leadership partnership combines Huthnance’s operational expertise with Watson’s strategic vision, creating a powerful team to guide the company forward. The company’s strategic focus on large-scale industrial development, combined with the ongoing e-commerce revolution and anticipated supply shortages, creates a compelling outlook.

“We have an optimistic view of the future,” Huthnance emphasizes. Despite uncertainties around tariffs and other economic factors, CT Realty remains confident in the fundamental strength of the industrial real estate sector and their position within it.

“We have enjoyed a great run since 2014 when I joined CT, and I am more enthused than ever about launching it into the next generation of growth across the robust industrial markets of America. It’s exciting to think about where CT Realty will be 10 years from now with such a powerful leadership team in place,” said Huthnance.