UPS has purchased an industrial site in Brooklyn that it had leased just last year, and will likely be the site of a new distribution center. The word “likely” is key here because this may well be UPS’s preliminary move into a head to head competitive battle with Amazon. And of course, the UPS logistics and distribution system is firmly in place. They would need to build a platform that clients would use for e-commerce linkage and delivery.  

After leasing the property for a year and a half, UPS decided to contract for an outright purchase from Sitex Group. The site according to the Real Deal article, offers up to 1.2 million buildable square feet.

UPS in June 2017 had signed a ground lease for the Red Hook site. That year it also signed a lease for a 475,000-square-foot warehouse at 50-02 55th Avenue in Maspeth, Queens. 

UPS continually evaluates where and how to best expand our facilities to meet growing customer demand,” said Matthew O’Connor, UPS spokesperson, in an email. “The Brooklyn, NY property is one of the locations UPS is considering to further optimize our ground network across the Northeast. The property acquisition is one of many initial steps in the feasibility and planning process for the proposed project.”

The acquisition comes amid a nationwide growth in demand for warehouse and distribution space, thanks to the rise of e-commerce.