Why Build-to-Suit Is Surging: Link Logistics’ Britt Winterer in NAIOP’s Development Magazine

Link Logistics chief development officer Britt Winterer authored a feature story for the Fall 2025 issue of Development magazine. Titled “Industrial Real Estate: Why Build-to-Suit Matters More Than Ever,” his article explores why tailored development is playing an increasingly important role as speculative construction slows. The magazine is published by NAIOP, a leading organization for professionals involved in commercial real estate development.

Winterer’s piece traces a shift in the industrial real estate market: speculative deliveries peaked at 481 million square feet in 2023 but are projected to decline to just over 150 million square feet in 2025. In industrial real estate, speculative construction refers to building warehouses without a committed user, while build-to-suit means designing and constructing a warehouse to meet the exact specifications of a known customer’s operations.

Against this backdrop, Winterer highlights how build-to-suit projects help customers secure facilities designed around their specific operational requirements, from enhanced power needs to specialized regulatory demands.

“Particularly during quieter periods of the industrial real estate market cycle, build-to-suit is a proactive, strategic approach that benefits both customers and developers by aligning design, value and long-term utility,” he writes.

Drawing on recent Link Logistics projects—including a New York logistics center and an Inland Empire industrial development—the article illustrates how early preparation, future-ready design and close collaboration create lasting customer value.

Winterer emphasizes that well-executed build-to-suit projects often extend relationships beyond a single deal: “Build-to-suit development works best when it involves a true partnership … listening to and collaborating with customers, brokers, architects, engineers and municipal stakeholders.”

Read the full article on NAIOP’s website.