"We built thinking from the user's perspective and not the owner's," says Belmir Menegatti about the success of Centro Logístico/Industrial Rio Claro

"The fact of having a tenant's view makes all the difference for customers," says Belmir Menegatti, president of Centro Logístico e Industrial Rio Claro, regarding the positive performance of the industrial property that bears the same name, located on a 240,000 m² plot of land in the municipality of Rio Claro, São Paulo.

The performance of Centro Logístico/Industrial Rio Claro, which is 100% leased, goes against the numbers of the Piracicaba region, of which the asset is part of the monitoring carried out by SiiLA. According to the latest data from the Market Analytics platform, the vacancy rate in the region had a sharp drop at the end of 2023, reaching 7.5%, compared to 18.5%, which was observed in the previous quarter, considering A+, A, and B industrial assets. This is the lowest availability rate ever recorded in Piracicaba since the beginning of monitoring this market.

The property led by Menegatti has major multinationals among its tenants and is considered a Top-Tier asset, offering tenants a clear height of 12 to 14 meters, with a free span of 22 meters, occupancy flexibility, laser-levelled concrete floor for 7 tons per square meter, photovoltaic energy generation, among other specifications.

Currently, the venture is expanding, with the construction of an additional 18,000 m² in Gross Leasable Area (GLA), scheduled for delivery by June of this year. According to Menegatti, the new areas are already pre-leased. After the completion of the work, the asset will have a total of 103,000 m² of built-up area. There are also an additional 50,000 m² in approved warehouse projects, with a plateau ready to be developed between 2025 and 2026. In 2022, the industrial property also carried out an expansion project, which was reported on SiiLA channels.

"The main differentiator that customers find is the proximity, having the opportunity to talk to the owner, to the decision-maker. This is different from when customers are in warehouses operated by large multinationals, where usually, at most, they will be able to talk to some director," says Menegatti. "Although I am the owner of Centro Logístico, I am the owner of a general warehouse company, which is now my main tenant. So, I operate here, I am a customer and supplier at the same time," he adds.

For Menegatti, the secret to the success of the venture is the way of service offered to customers, different from what is practiced in the market, and understanding the occupant's pain is essential to deliver projects that will exceed tenants' expectations. "We built thinking like a user and not like a landlord, which makes all the difference. Here, we build thinking from the user's perspective and not from the owner's," he says.