Build-to-Suit for SDA Express Courier in Bologna Italy

SDA Express Courier BTS

Bologna Interporto
Bologna, Italy

Prologis’ ability to develop different types of logistics facilities—classified by a range of features, sizes and locations—to meet specific customer needs enabled the completion of two new Class-A build-to-suit (BTS) logistics facilities at Italy’s Interporto Bologna for SDA, the express delivery service of Poste Italiane. The first BTS is a nearly 260,000 square foot cross dock building that serves the Emilia Romagna region. The second is a new last-mile distribution center of 43,000 square feet dedicated to serving the city of Bologna. Combined, the facilities total more than 300,000 square feet, and both buildings host 750 employees.

Bologna Interporto, located north of Bologna near the municipalities of Bentivoglio and San Giorgio in Piano, is one of the largest intermodal (rail/road) logistics platforms in Europe. Situated near the A13 highway, which connects Bologna and Padua, it benefits from proximity to national and European cargo transport routes.

The modern facilities are built to the highest international standards and include office, logistics and distribution space; large outdoor areas; and approximately 500 parking places. The main building features cross dock operations with support pillars positioned to accommodate SDA’s sorter.

Both facilities feature Prologis’ EEGLE, a digital innovation that allows customers to optimize their building’s operations, reduce costs and minimize environmental impact. It is the first tool of its kind in the industrial real estate sector and enables remote management of a logistics building. The interface connects to the building by sensors, allowing users to monitor energy consumption, manage maintenance deadlines and detect operational malfunctions.

“The SDA buildings brings the number of Prologis properties at Interporto Bologna to 17, with a total area of approximately 2.7 million square feet. These BTS projects had very short construction timelines and very long building permitting processes, but Prologis completed them on time, and costs were aligned with budgets,“ said Sandro Innocenti, senior vice president, country manager, Prologis Italy. “The Italian logistics real estate market is particularly vibrant right now. We see high demand for technologically advanced, build-to-suit facilities—a trend likely to continue throughout 2019.”

Prologis is currently the single largest operator at Bologna Interporto, where it owns and manages approximately 45 percent of the total covered logistics area available. Prologis owns and manages nearly 10 million square feet of distribution space in Italy as of December 31, 2018.