Prologis to develop 12,700 m[sup]2[/sup] warehouse in France for Rip Curl

Global logistics property owner and developer Prologis said Thursday that it is developing a new 12,700 m² industrial warehouse in southwest France for Australia-based Rip Curl, a supplier of equipment and apparel for surfing and mountain sports.

The facility, which Rip Curl will use to distribute its products to retailers throughout Europe, will be developed on land recently acquired by Prologis in the city of St Geours de Maremne in the southwest of France. Construction is set to begin in the first half of 2009. The building is expandable by about 6,000 m² and Prologis also has an option to acquire land immediately adjacent to the site, which could extend the facility an additional 12,000 m².

Among other features, the warehouse will also have a 250-kilowatt solar array installed on the roof of the building. Prologis said it planned to sell the power generated by the solar panels, or an estimated 275,000 kilowatt hours of renewable energy each year, back to the local French utility.