It wasn't a sure thing that the speculatively built Soaring Rail Industrial Facility in Bristol, Indiana — a town with less than 2,000 residents — would find ready occupants.
But an expansive lease an outdoor product manufacturer inked proved just how much demand for the next generation logistics center existed in its South Bend market.
Dometic Group, an outdoor product and vehicle maker based in Sweden, inked a 200,000-square-foot lease at the 2023-completed building last fall, agreeing to stay for almost six years. That agreement alone accounts for nearly half of the 500,000-square-foot facility, filling up the last available space in the property.
It also confirms demand for large industrial spaces, elevating Bristol’s profile among national site selectors and industrial developers and making it a long‑term contender for major industrial investment.
The agreement also underscores interest in some of the property's characteristics, such as its immediate access to the Grand Elk Railroad and soaring 42-foot-high ceilings. That kind of height is rare in the region; indeed, the building is one of Elkhart County's tallest.
Dometic plans to make the location its flagship distribution hub in the United States, supporting up to 40 jobs as its stores and ships about $35 million in inventory. In this sense, the commitment reinforces Bristol’s advantages as a distribution node, strengthening the region’s manufacturing and logistics ecosystem as it drives job creation.
For this reason, the deal earned a CoStar Impact Award, as judged by regional real estate experts.
About the project: Dometic is scheduled to move into its two-suite space at 203 Stonemont Drive in November, with a triple-net starting lease set to expire in 2032. Dometic is joining fellow vehicle manufacturer AM General, which occupies the remainder of the four-star industrial warehouse. Each suite in the property comes with 10 loading docks.
What the judges said: "This amount of square footage being absorbed in the market and the job creation are definitely the most impactful," Damien Yoder, managing director of investments at Marcus & Millichap said. "I think this helps the leasing momentum for the development and market, as well as having a significant impact on job creation for the area. This amount of absorption will continue to signal to future developers that it's worth taking the risk on these new projects in the area and signal to tenants, alike that this market is growing and a good place to locate, relocate and/or expand."
They made it happen: Ryan White and Greg Carroll, brokers at Pinnacle Properties, and Jeremy McClements, a broker at Bradley Co. facilitated the deal.