Room for the smaller operation
Texas A&M’s Real Estate Research Center projected about 21 million square feet of annual statewide manufacturing-space demand on average for 2025–2026. Its analysis included smaller manufacturers that may fit flex buildings or small warehouses. This is a dated forecast, not a current local vacancy count. Read the manufacturing-space analysis ↗
Start with the work inside
A flex-space concept might combine office or showroom space with a shop or warehouse. Before choosing a footprint, describe how people, materials, deliveries and customers will move through it. A building that looks adaptable on paper still needs an operating plan that makes sense for its tenant.
Manufacturing adds a different set of questions: equipment layout, available power, service access and future process changes. Those are project questions, not conclusions that can be drawn from a regional growth headline.
Climate-controlled storage is a distinct use
Start with what will be stored and the conditions it requires. Temperature, humidity, insulation, door openings and operating costs need to be considered together. Ordinary self-storage, a conditioned warehouse and a refrigerated facility are not interchangeable building types. Warehouse design reference ↗
Demand must be local
Texas A&M’s September 2026 outlook anticipates a better balance between warehouse leasing and new supply through summer 2027. It does not establish a universal shortage, and warehouse statistics do not measure self-storage demand. Read the current forecast ↗
Test the specific trade area, competing space, customer needs, access, utilities and operating economics. Then bring the requirements to the design and construction team.