FORT WORTH, Texas — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here.
Hillwood Construction Services LP has kicked off a $98 million build-to-suit project for Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. in Fort Worth.
Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) announced in August plans for the 800,000-square-foot regional distribution center at the new Risinger/35 Logistics Park. The roughly 86-acre park is located at Risinger Road and Old Burleson Road in south Fort Worth.
Sean Whitehouse, Dick's Sporting Goods vice president of supply chain, said during an Oct. 15 groundbreaking ceremony that company leaders took their time making a decision on a location for the distribution center. He said Dick's plans to hire 300 employees and estimates the building will be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
Whitehouse declined to share the exact construction cost of the building, but public filings with the state provide an estimated cost of $98 million. Such filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation amount to ballpark figures and can change, sometimes dramatically, as construction progresses.
The decision for the company’s sixth distribution center came down to location, workforce and business friendliness, Whitehouse said. Dick's has other distribution centers in Atlanta; Conklin, New York; Goodyear, Arizona; Plainfield, Indiana; and Smithton, Pennsylvania. Whitehouse said the decision was made carefully because the company views the new building as a long-term investment.
"We're going to stay there for 30-plus years," he said.
According to Census Bureau data, the data, transportation, utilities and warehousing sectors employed an estimated 103,000-plus people in Tarrant County in 2021. The west side of the Metroplex is a magnet for logistics projects as companies look to catch up with a surging population.
Dick's is building near where several other companies have planted large logistics hubs. Tire manufacturing giant Continental Tire plans a $69 million industrial building and offices in the Risinger/35 park. Samsung in 2022 signed a lease for a 670,941 square feet at VanTrust Real Estate's 75-acre Fort Worth Logistics Hub.
The south Fort Worth submarket had 3.28 million square feet of industrial space in development in the third quarter, according to a report from real estate firm JLL. So far this year, 3.41 million square feet of industrial space has been completed.
Hillwood is known for the 27,000-acre AllianceTexas development in northern Fort Worth, which continues to add huge speculative buildings. But Risinger/35 showcases how growth on the south side of the city has also captured the attention of the company's leaders, including founder and Chairman Ross Perot Jr. and President Mike Berry.
Perot said Risinger/35 will be fully built out between Dick’s Sporting Goods, the 752,000-square-foot Continental Tire center and an Amazon warehouse.
"We'll look for more land," he said at the groundbreaking. "Hopefully buy more land down here, but south Fort Worth is strong."
