PlaceMKR Acquires Rankin Yards, A High-Powered Advanced Manufacturing Campus in Houston

50-Acre Infill Industrial Property Near North Hardy Toll Road Features 40-Megawatt Substation and Crane-Served Buildings

Leasing Opportunities Available Alongside Existing Tenants

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PlaceMKR, a Texas-based real estate investment and development firm focused on acquiring flexible and differentiated assets across Sun Belt markets, today announced the acquisition of Rankin Yards, a crane-served, high-powered advanced manufacturing campus in North Houston. The infill property, located at 1310 Rankin Road in the North Hardy Toll Road submarket, was acquired from Wellbore Integrity Solutions, LLC in partnership with an alternative investment manager. Wellbore will remain as a tenant on the campus post-close.

Founded in 2018 by Christopher Cortese and Jesse Weber, PlaceMKR, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is an owner and developer of industrial, office, multifamily and retail properties. The firm owns a number of developments in Austin, recently acquired properties in Dallas and is focused on several future Sun Belt opportunities in the pipeline. Rankin Yards is the Company’s first entry into the highly competitive Houston market.

“Houston, like many high-growth and high demand markets across the country, is experiencing steadily increasing demand for advanced manufacturing facilities,” said Christopher Cortese, co-founder of PlaceMKR. “Having tracked this structural demand shift closely, Rankin Yards checks every box for tenants who need serious power capacity and modern operational infrastructure. We are excited to enter the Houston market with such a strong asset and look forward to continuing to grow our footprint in the region.”

Rankin Yards includes 17 buildings totaling approximately 612,000 square feet across 50 acres. The property includes 32 cranes, and an on-site, 40-megawatt substation with the potential to dramatically increase power capacity and directly serve tenants seeking advanced manufacturing, energy services, or data center space.

PlaceMKR also plans to redevelop portions of the existing space, including enclosing multiple craneways to add an additional 88,000 square feet in rentable space. Crane-served facilities offer a critical advantage for tenants handling heavy or specialized materials. This feature is difficult and expensive to retrofit buildings with, making it a significant differentiator within Houston’s existing infill industrial inventory.

“This acquisition presents a compelling opportunity to invest in the current onshoring surge occurring in Houston,” said Jesse Weber, co-founder of PlaceMKR. “With every building overhead crane-served, an expandable on-site 40-megawatt substation and future availability of over 400,000 square feet, we believe this property is well positioned to serve a community with significant advanced manufacturing space needs within one of Houston’s most active industrial corridors.”

Positioned in Houston’s premier industrial North Hardy Toll Road submarket, the asset offers direct access to several major transportation corridors, including Interstate 45, Beltway 8 and George Bush Intercontinental Airport. A recent Partners report highlighted the level of demand in the Houston Manufacturing market, where the North submarket has a vacancy rate of 1.3% compared to the broader Houston Industrial market which has a total vacancy rate of 7.5%. The report also notes how rents have increased by 10.1% year-over-year for industrial space in Houston.

About PlaceMKR

PlaceMKR is an Austin-based real estate investment and development firm that specializes in identifying and acquiring differentiated properties across the Sun Belt region. Founded in 2018, PlaceMKR is a leading owner of industrial, IOS, data center, office and retail space. Alongside their acquisition and investment business, PlaceMKR has also developed several ground-up projects with several others in the pipeline.