"With e-commerce accounting for 9 percent of total retail sales in 2017, 'there appears to be a lot of runway left for online retail growth,' said Hyde."

Excerpt from Finance and Commerce:

An ambitious Fridley redevelopment project expected to take eight years is on the verge of wrapping up in five, amid growing lender enthusiasm for industrial real estate in the Twin Cities metro area.

Even as appetites cool for other types of commercial real estate, lenders are bullish on industrial, said Paul Hyde, owner of Minneapolis-based Hyde Development, the industrial project’s developer. “That caution you’re beginning to see in multifamily and hotels – we’re benefiting from it,” he said.

Lenders and investors like the lower average cost of industrial projects, but they’re also betting on continued e-commerce growth driving a fundamental shift from large-scale manufacturing to warehousing and fulfillment, he said, adding the trend is likely to support long-term demand for industrial real estate.