Portland Industrial Real Estate: Pacific Northwest Market Dynamics and Supply Constraints
Ryan Fitzgibbon serves as senior vice president and Portland market officer for Link Logistics, where he oversees warehouse and industrial properties across the Portland metro area. With the Portland market spanning both Oregon and Southwest Washington—including Vancouver—Ryan helps businesses navigate a region characterized by local and regional demand, specialized food processing clusters and limited new supply. Link Logistics’ Portland portfolio focuses primarily on 30,000- to 50,000-square-foot industrial facilities serving a wide range of customers. In this Q&A, Ryan discusses Portland warehouse space for lease—what drives demand, how submarkets serve different users and why supply constraints create market stability.
What are the main demand drivers for industrial real estate in Portland?
Ryan: For the most part, logistics real estate demand is local—last-mile distribution servicing the Portland metro area, then with some broader distribution up into Southwest Washington, throughout Oregon and as far south as Northern California. That's the primary driver here, rather than through-distribution to other major metros like you’d see in markets such as Dallas, Atlanta or Chicago.
We have unique specialized pockets. Distribution demand is primarily in the northern Portland submarkets, which historically have been the distribution hub because you're along the north-south interstates going into Washington state and along I-84 heading east into Eastern Oregon and Idaho.
You also have concentrations of food-related users. Portland has significant food processing operations—bakeries and similar businesses. The Clackamas submarket, farther south, has a lot of food manufacturing and processing activity, including a substantial amount climate-controlled warehouse properties designed for storing perishable goods.
Close to Portland in the Guild’s Lake or Northwest Portland submarket, you see companies serving downtown Portland—distributing to offices, restaurants and the urban core. That submarket is just a couple miles north of downtown.
What recent trends are shaping the Portland warehouse market?
Ryan: One major trend has been migration within the market. Historically, most of the warehouse concentration was in Northern Portland submarkets—those are within the city of Portland and Multnomah County. Since COVID, we've seen tenants migrating out of those northern submarkets farther south along I-5 into suburban markets like Tigard and into Washington state to the north, particularly Vancouver.
Businesses, especially smaller operations where the owner is the decision-maker, increasingly prefer locations outside the city core for their warehouse operations. The southern suburban markets like Tigard are very tight with limited availability and higher rental costs, and there's strong demand there. About 20% of our Link Logistics portfolio is in those southern suburbs.
Over the last five years, most new development has occurred in Washington rather than Oregon, partly due to different jurisdictional dynamics and business preferences.
How does Intel's presence and the growth of data centers impact Portland's industrial market?
Ryan: Intel has an R&D campus here in the Hillsboro area, and they're accelerating on artificial intelligence and chip development. We've seen data center and data center-related demand in Portland as a result.
There have been several significant deals supporting data center construction. Most recently, a company leased just over 100,000 square feet in the Hillsboro submarket near Intel's campus to support data center buildout. That ancillary demand from data center suppliers and construction companies is something we're actively focused on.
What is Portland's urban growth boundary and how does it affect industrial development?
Ryan: Portland has an urban growth boundary that strictly defines where new development can occur—for any property type, from apartments to warehouses. This creates real barriers to entry for new industrial supply and makes it very difficult to build new industrial product within the urban growth boundary. That's a key reason why such a significant amount of new development over the last five years happened in Washington state—it doesn't have the same urban growth boundary restrictions.
For landlords and tenants, this supply constraint provides stability. There's a floor on how low rents can go and a ceiling on how high vacancy can climb because you can't build as much new supply. When the market experiences a downturn, you don't see massive amounts of new vacant space coming online. The urban growth boundary insulates the market from oversupply cycles.
How does Link Logistics support companies looking for warehouse space in Portland?
Ryan: Our Portland portfolio focuses on industrial space between 30,000 and 50,000 square feet, which serves the local and regional businesses that drive demand in this market. We're positioned to support companies in that size range across different submarkets based on their specific warehouse needs—whether they need to be near interstates for distribution, closer to food processing clusters, or in infill locations serving downtown Portland.
Another great thing is that we have a very responsive local team that's been consistent over the years. Our property management team has deep knowledge of the buildings and strong relationships with customers. Many of them worked on these properties for years before joining Link Logistics, so they bring 10-plus years of building-specific expertise.
Looking ahead, what makes Portland attractive for businesses evaluating warehouse space?
Ryan: Looking ahead, Portland offers distinct advantages for businesses seeking stable Pacific Northwest warehouse operations. The supply constraints from the urban growth boundary create a more stable market environment. You're not going to see the dramatic swings in vacancy and rental rates that markets with abundant developable land can experience.
The Portland market serves local and regional consumption effectively, with established infrastructure connecting to Southwest Washington, throughout Oregon and into Northern California. For businesses focused on serving Pacific Northwest consumers, Portland offers strategic positioning. The fact that the market spans into Washington provides businesses with different tax considerations. Companies can evaluate whether Oregon or Washington makes more sense for their specific business model while still serving the broader Portland metro market.
Major employers like Nike and Columbia Sportswear help anchor the region's economy, and emerging demand from Intel's AI and chip development initiatives, along with related data center activity, adds new dimensions to the market.
These factors—supply stability, Pacific Northwest connectivity, tax optionality across state lines and emerging technology sector demand—position Portland as a resilient market for businesses prioritizing predictability over rapid expansion.
Explore available warehouse and distribution space in Portland to learn more about industrial real estate opportunities in the Pacific Northwest.
