Lockhart, TX—On October 17, 2023, the Lockhart City Council approved economic development incentives for F3 ColdCo Lockhart, LLC, also referred to as RealCold, a major refrigerated warehouse and cold chain operator, greenlighting the construction of its 302,400 SF facility. The Class A, energy-efficient public refrigerated warehouse, which will be located along FM 2001 north of SH 130, will focus on supporting the rapidly growing subsector of direct-to-consumer grocery deliveries in the Austin-San Antonio corridor, as well as the greater Central Texas market. Terms of the newly approved City incentives include RealCold hiring over 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) Lockhart-based employees by year four and investing at least $65 million in its Lockhart facility.
“Our next-generation facility will service six million people within 100 miles of Lockhart and become a gateway to fulfill refrigerated and frozen products across the southern United States,” said RealCold CEO, Keith Goldsmith in a release. “When combined with RealCold’s unique service offerings, our mission-critical locations in Florida and now, Texas will strengthen our strategic initiatives which are grounded in the underlying shift of consumer shopping habits toward e-commerce and grocery delivery. These trends and the inability of existing providers to address them, served as the impetus for RealCold’s creation and entry into the cold chain sector over 18 months ago.”
“We are developing a national cold storage platform that proactively anticipates and responds to changing consumer demands by offering direct-to-consumer fulfillment and other value-add services, robust technology integrations, and highly bespoke customer-centric engineering,” Goldsmith added.
While the total proposed site is approximately 53 acres, RealCold will operate on about 25 acres with the opportunity to expand. The excess land allows for additional buildable square footage on which they may develop another cold storage facility or traditional “dry” industrial warehouses.
“I’m thrilled and appreciative of RealCold’s commitment to our community. Their presence, even before breaking ground, signifies a promising partnership that will bring new opportunities to Lockhart,” said Lockhart Mayor Lew White. “The LEDC’s refreshed Target Industry Strategy serves as a cornerstone for the City’s next industrial park to entice projects from targeted industries, like RealCold, to consider Lockhart for its next business venture.”
The company’s initial project phase is cold storage, which falls in line with the Food and Beverage Processing target, Mayor White explained.
“The additional square footage would be attractive for additional projects—supporting the ‘All Things Mega’ target,” he said.
Last week, the Caldwell County Commissioners Court approved a Chapter 381 agreement for the project in which County Judge Hoppy Haden echoed Mayor White’s sentiments.
“Caldwell County is also pleased to participate in the development of this project by sharing incentives,” Judge Haden said.
“Lockhart’s quality and availability of labor were crucial in RealCold’s site selection process,” Related Fund Management (RFM) Partner and Managing Director, Michael Winston, affirmed.
F3 ColdCo Lockhart, LLC, or RealCold is sponsored by RFM. Founded in 2009, RFM has established itself for more than a decade as a highly skilled and differentiated real estate investment manager with approximately $12.9 billion of assets under management. RFM has demonstrated a successful track record of investing across all portions of the real estate capital stack and in all major sectors.
Once the warehouse is completed, the property’s value is estimated to be at least $67.2 million in real property.
About the City of Lockhart
The City of Lockhart is the government entity of Lockhart, Texas, representing over 14,000 residents. It is the county seat of Caldwell County and is located 30 miles southeast of Austin. Lockhart was designated by the Texas Legislature as the 'Barbecue Capital of Texas' in recognition of its historic barbecue establishments and renowned pitmasters. Follow the City of Lockhart on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, and Nextdoor for the latest community updates.
About the LEDC
The Lockhart Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) is a department within the City of Lockhart and is designed to provide a range of business and economic development assistance. From entrepreneurs to large corporations and from retail to manufacturing companies, the Lockhart Economic Development Corporation is here to work with your business and can include both financial and non-financial assistance depending upon your needs.
About RealCold
Established in 2022, RealCold was founded to address the unmet needs of the food cold chain sector. By combining high-growth strategic locations, state-of-the-art Class A facilities, and a diverse offering of value-added services, the company has positioned itself as a collaborative and integrated provider for food retailers, producers, and distributors. This mission is reinforced through its highly bespoke solutioning and customer-centric approach. The RealCold platform will ultimately operate a national, multi-channel network providing 1- or 2-day ground service for the majority of U.S consumers.
About Related Fund Management
Related Fund Management is a multi-strategy real estate private equity manager with approximately $12 billion of assets under management (as of 6/30/23). Founded in 2009, RFM has established itself over more than a decade as a highly skilled and differentiated real estate investment manager with a hands on approach towards creating value at the asset level. Since inception, RFM has demonstrated a successful track record investing across all portions of the real estate capital stack and in all major sectors. RFM is affiliated with Related Companies (“Related”), a real estate development and operating business with extensive experience in the development, construction, and operation of real estate assets with a team of over 4,000 professionals and a portfolio of over $60 billion of assets owned or under development.