Pallet positions get the attention, but trailer positions and door counts decide whether a distribution building flows. A building that stores well and cannot turn trucks is a warehouse with a queue outside it. We build for distribution and logistics owners by starting at the truck: the turning radius, the staging depth, the number of doors per thousand pallets and the pavement section under the trailer wheels, then drawing the building around those.
The owners we talk to are developers building to lease, third-party logistics operators with a committed customer, and manufacturers who need a regional distribution node. Each has a different horizon. A speculative developer prices for flexibility and a quick shell. An operator prices for throughput and racking. We write proposals that make the assumptions explicit, so a developer can see the cost of a future tenant's cold room and an operator can see the cost of a dock position added later.
Colorado adds its own constraints: snow load on long roof spans, expansive soils under slabs, and truck routes defined by a short list of interstates. The sections below describe how we work through them for the buyer, with detail on the building forms in our truck terminals and cross-docks work and the pages linked from it.
Corridors that decide where freight lands
Distribution follows the interstates and the rail. Peña Boulevard links Denver International Airport to I-70, and E-470 has a full cloverleaf interchange with Peña, giving the 47-mile toll road direct airport access. That arrangement puts the east side of the metro within a short drive of air cargo, the beltway and two interstates, and it is why large tracts there draw buildings of 500,000 square feet and more.
North of the metro, State Highway 52 passes US 287, reaches a diamond interchange with I-25 at exit 235 and continues east to US 85 at Fort Lupton and I-76 and US 6 at Hudson, so the highway links I-25 to I-76 across Weld County. A site near Frederick has access to both. South of Denver, BNSF Railway and Union Pacific each run a freight line through Castle Rock parallel to US 85, which matters to operators who want a rail option. Further south, Raton Pass reaches 7,834 feet, carries I-25 and the BNSF tracks, and has rail grades up to 3.5 percent, a reminder that winter operations on the southern edge of the state need contingency in the supply plan.
Throughput, expansion and the second tenant
Design decisions that look small on a drawing control the operating life of the building. Clear height sets storage density: owners moving from 32 feet to 36 feet clear gain a rack level but need a taller structure, a heavier sprinkler design and a different fire authority review. Column spacing sets the aisle and racking layout. Dock count and depth set the yard.
We ask three questions at the start. How will the building grow, and does the site leave a place for it? Will a second tenant ever need to occupy half of it? Is any portion likely to convert to cold or to light assembly? A yes to any of them changes where we stub utilities, how we divide the fire water system and whether the slab is designed for a heavier storage system than the first tenant needs. A design that answers those questions on day one costs less than a retrofit, and our tilt-wall industrial buildings work is organized around that logic.
The forms a distribution program takes
Distribution is not one building type. A warehouse for bulk storage emphasizes clear height and slab quality. A cross-dock emphasizes door count on both sides and a deep, strong apron. A shallow-bay flex building serves last-mile and light assembly tenants with smaller suites and drive-in doors. Compark470 in Parker, two shallow-bay buildings totaling about 133,133 square feet with access to E-470 and I-25, is an example of the smaller form the market is adding.
Each form has a different pavement and site package. Cross-docks need heavy apron concrete and generous turning space, as covered in truck courts and trailer yards. Bulk warehouses need a stormwater design that handles a large roof area. Where a customer wants rail service, we add a spur and scope it with the railroad's requirements, drawing on our rail spur site improvements experience in design and coordination.
Building to a lease commencement or a peak season
A distribution building usually has a date it cannot miss: a lease commencement, a customer launch, or a peak season that starts in the fall. We build the schedule backward from that date and identify the items that can break it. Early site work and utilities can start while the permit is in review in many jurisdictions, depending on the grading permit rules, and long-lead items like dock levelers, fire pump equipment and overhead doors are released with the structural package.
The shell is only part of delivery. Racking, conveyor and automation vendors need a clean, flat, sealed floor and power before they start, so we agree the handover state of the floor and the electrical rooms with the operator's integrator, and we record it on a checklist. For tenants who take possession in phases, we plan access so that fit-out vendors are not working across active construction. That coordination is what a pass at a lease date looks like on the ground.
Where we plan and build along the Front Range
Our logistics work follows the I-25 corridor from the southern edge of the state to the northern Front Range, plus the I-76 and I-70 branches and the plains east of the metro. In Monument, the Town Council unanimously approved two industrial distribution warehouses in phase 2 of the Falcon Commerce Center on January 14, 2025, south of Baptist Road and west of I-25, which shows planning momentum at the north end of the Pikes Peak region.
Each market asks for a slightly different approach. Weld County parcels face foundation rules and floodplain review, Monument and its neighbors work within the regional building department, and mountain-influenced snow loads rise as elevation increases. We keep a jurisdiction file for each market we build in, so a new site starts with the right permit sequence rather than a first guess. Operators with parts distribution for automotive and EV plants, or for the retail networks described under ecommerce fulfillment, benefit most from this regional approach.
Send the site, the door count and the lease date
Share the parcel, the target building size, the trailer positions you need and the date the building must be occupied. We will return a program, a pavement and drainage approach and a schedule that shows where the permit, the long-lead items and the racking vendor sit.
Common Questions
How many dock doors should a new distribution building plan for?
The answer comes from throughput, not square footage. We start from the number of trucks per day, the average dwell time and the peak hour, then add a margin for growth and for a second tenant. A common error is to size doors for the first tenant's average day, which leaves no capacity for peak season. We show the door count as a range with the cost of adding positions later.
What clear height should we choose?
It depends on the racking system, the fire protection design and the market's resale expectations. A higher building holds more pallets per acre but needs a deeper structure and a more demanding sprinkler design. We price two heights side by side in preconstruction so the owner sees the cost per pallet position for each.
How does snow load affect a long-span roof here?
Snow load varies by jurisdiction and elevation, and a wide-span building feels it directly in the roof framing. Some municipalities publish design values, and others set them site by site. We confirm the value with the building department before the structural design is released.
Can we start site work before the building permit is issued?
In many jurisdictions a grading or site permit can be obtained separately, and early mass grading, utilities and stormwater facilities can start under it. The rules vary by city and county, and we confirm them in the first meeting. Starting early helps most when the schedule is tied to a lease date.
What about winter operations and access?
Winter affects both construction and operation. We plan concrete placement with cold weather protection, and for operations we design truck courts with drainage that keeps meltwater away from the dock apron so it does not freeze at the doors. Salt storage and snow storage locations are shown on the site plan.