Henrico Industrial Space for Lease in 2026: Warehouse and Flex Options from the Airport to Parham Road

If you are looking for Henrico industrial space for lease, the short answer is that the county splits into two very different markets. Eastern Henrico — around Richmond International Airport, White Oak Technology Park, and the I-64 / I-295 / I-895 interchanges — holds most of the modern bulk and mid-size distribution buildings. Western and northern Henrico — Parham Road, the West Broad Street corridor, and Route 1 — hold older flex and small-bay buildings that suit contractors, service companies, and light assembly.

Both are tight. Per Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Q2 2026 Richmond Industrial MarketBeat, metro-wide industrial vacancy was 3.8%, and the Southeast quadrant that includes the airport area was 1.2%. That means good space gets leased before it is widely marketed, and preparation matters more than usual.

Where is Henrico industrial space for lease located?

Henrico wraps around the City of Richmond on three sides, so “Henrico industrial” covers several distinct corridors. Research firms do not map them the same way: Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer divides the metro into quadrants, and eastern Henrico’s airport area sits in its Southeast quadrant, while western Henrico falls in the Northwest quadrant and the I-95 north corridor straddles the Northwest and Northeast.

Eastern Henrico: Airport, White Oak, and Sandston

This is the county’s logistics engine. Buildings here sit minutes from I-64, I-295, and I-895, with I-95 a short run west. Recent activity shows why: in Q2 2026, ID Logistics Warehousing leased all 582,424 SF of Ashley Capital’s I-895 Logistics Center at 7011 S. Laburnum Avenue, the largest lease of the quarter per Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer.

White Oak Technology Park, the county’s master-planned park near the I-64 / I-295 interchange in the Sandston area, has increasingly drawn data centers. Iron Mountain bought 66 acres there from the Henrico Economic Development Authority for just over $8 million in late 2024, per Richmond BizSense, and QTS completed a roughly $137 million purchase of the 622-acre White Oak Technology Park II site, per Virginia Business. That competition for land and power is one reason warehouse users should not assume large sites will stay available.

Northern Henrico: Route 1 and I-95 north

The Route 1 (Brook Road / Washington Highway) and I-95 north corridor has a mix of older warehouse, manufacturing, and service buildings, with newer product clustering toward Hanover County and Ashland. It works well for users who need I-95 access and a labor pool from both north Richmond and Hanover. Buyers can start with industrial property for sale in Henrico; developers, with commercial land for sale in Henrico.

Western Henrico: Parham Road and West Broad flex

Around Parham Road, Staples Mill Road, and the West Broad Street corridor, industrial inventory is mostly flex and small-bay: single-story buildings with a storefront or office up front and a warehouse bay with a drive-in or dock door in back. Tenants choose these for proximity to West End customers and employees rather than for logistics specs. For a comparable in-city option, see our guide to Scott’s Addition retail and flex space.

What does Richmond warehouse space lease for in 2026?

Asking rents vary by building type and quadrant. Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer reported an overall net asking rent of $8.04 per SF per year metro-wide in Q2 2026, with Class A product landing in the mid-$9s and new construction often pricing higher. The report put year-over-year growth in quoted warehouse rates at roughly 5–6%.

Treat these as directional. Different firms track different building sets: CBRE’s Richmond office, writing in REBusinessOnline in August 2026, put metro vacancy near 5.5% and average asking rent at $8.86 per SF. The rent that matters is the one on the specific building you are considering, after concessions.

What building specs matter most for a Henrico warehouse?

Rent gets the attention, but specs decide whether your operation fits. A cheaper building that forces a second shift, an extra lift truck, or off-site trailer storage is not cheaper.

Clear height

Clear height is the usable height beneath the lowest obstruction — joists, sprinkler heads, lights. Per Link Logistics, modern warehouses often run 32 to 36 feet while older facilities top out around 24 to 28 feet. Much of the flex stock along Parham Road and Route 1 is lower still, which is fine for workshops and staging but limits racking.

Loading, truck courts, and columns

• Dock doors vs. drive-ins: docks serve 53-foot trailers at truck-bed height; drive-in (grade-level) doors serve box trucks, vans, and equipment. Many small-bay users need at least one of each.
• Dock ratio: Terrapin Construction Group’s 2026 guide cites roughly one door per 10,000 SF as a general spec, with e-commerce users pushing toward one per 5,000–6,000 SF.
• Truck court depth: the same guide cites 185 feet as the minimum for safe 53-foot trailer maneuvering and 210 feet as preferred for high-volume operations. Shallow courts are common in older infill parks.
• Column spacing: wider bays (the guide cites 52 × 60 feet as a common spec) make racking layouts more efficient. Tight columns in older buildings can cost you pallet positions.

Power, sprinklers, and slab

Confirm amperage and voltage early — manufacturing, cold storage, and automated conveyor users can outgrow a building’s service quickly, and upgrades take time through Dominion Energy. Check whether the sprinkler system is ESFR (early suppression, fast response) and rated for your commodity and storage height; high-piled plastics or aerosols can trigger costly upgrades. Ask about slab thickness and flatness if you run very-narrow-aisle equipment.

How do industrial leases work in Henrico?

Most multi-tenant and single-tenant warehouse leases in the Richmond area are triple-net, or NNN: the tenant pays base rent plus its share of real estate taxes, building insurance, and common area maintenance (CAM). Flex buildings are sometimes quoted on a modified-gross basis, where some of those costs are folded into rent. Always ask which structure applies before comparing numbers.

Pay close attention to HVAC and roof language. In older flex buildings, a tenant who takes on HVAC replacement responsibility can face a large unplanned bill mid-term.

What does an industrial site search in Henrico look like?

1. 1Define the operation first: square footage, clear height, number and type of doors, trailer parking, power, office percentage, and outdoor storage needs.
2. 2Map labor and freight: where your employees live, where inbound freight originates, and where outbound customers are. That usually picks the corridor before the building.
3. 3Confirm zoning: Henrico’s industrial districts include M-1 (light), M-2 (general), and M-3 (heavy), and the O/S Office/Service district permits some light industrial uses. Verify your specific use with Henrico County Planning, including any proffered conditions on the parcel.
4. 4Tour a short list of on-market and off-market options, including sublease space.
5. 5Issue a request for proposal to two or three landlords so terms are comparable.
6. 6Negotiate the lease — term, escalations, TI, renewal and expansion rights, and operating-expense caps.
7. 7Plan permits and build-out: building permits, certificate of occupancy, and any fire-marshal review for high-piled storage.

Why does the Port of Virginia matter for Richmond warehouse space?

Richmond’s logistics case rests partly on its link to the Port of Virginia in Hampton Roads. I-64 connects the airport area directly to the port, and the Richmond Marine Terminal on the James River south of downtown gives importers a container-on-barge option.

Per the Port of Virginia’s Richmond Marine Terminal fact sheet, the 121-acre terminal runs three barges with a combined capacity of 500 FEU (forty-foot equivalent units), has CSX rail service with Norfolk Southern via local switch, offers about 300,000 SF of covered and uncovered storage, and is a U.S. Customs-designated port of entry. For import-heavy users, being able to pull and return containers in Richmond rather than Norfolk can save drive time and help truck turns.

Big-box vs. small-bay: how does supply differ?

The two ends of the market behave differently. Bulk space is where the construction is. Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Q2 2026 pipeline for the Airport submarket includes Lingerfelt’s White Oak Distribution Center (373,360 SF, speculative, expected Q4 2026), Lingerfelt’s Seven Hills Distribution Center (267,480 SF, speculative, expected Q1 2027), and Ares Industrial’s Airport Logistics Center building 4 (187,500 SF, speculative). Larger users therefore have new-construction options if they can commit early.

Small-bay is the opposite. Few developers build new multi-tenant small-bay buildings because land and construction costs are hard to justify at small-bay rents, so existing flex stock turns over tenant to tenant. Expect fewer options, faster decisions, and landlords who favor tenants with clean financials. For I-95 alternatives south of the river, see our Chesterfield industrial I-95 corridor guide.

Working with a broker on your Henrico industrial search

A tenant-side broker’s job is to widen your options — including off-market and sublease space — and to make proposals comparable so you are negotiating on total occupancy cost, not just base rent. You can see current opportunities on our listings page and how I approach tenant representation on the services page.

If you are weighing airport-area distribution space against flex in western Henrico, or just trying to figure out what your operation actually needs, reach out. I am glad to talk through requirements before you tour a single building.