Industrial Submarket Spotlight: Lockhart’s Rise as a Food Logistics and Ag-Tech Hub
South of Austin, the city of Lockhart is quickly becoming one of Central Texas’s most active industrial submarkets. With direct access to State Highway 130 and U.S. 183, affordable land, and strong proximity to Austin and San Antonio, Lockhart draws steady investment from food producers, cold-storage operators, and ag-tech firms looking for growth space outside the urban core.
Leading the charge is RealCold, a national cold-chain logistics operator and subsidiary of Related Companies. RealCold recently opened its 312,000-square-foot flagship facility in Lockhart, the company’s first ground-up project and a $65 million investment. The site includes roughly 38,000 pallet positions and 16 million cubic feet of temperature-controlled space to support e-commerce and direct-to-consumer fulfillment. It is expected to create more than 100 jobs and has capacity for another 142,000 square feet of expansion, with longer-term plans for an additional 877,900 square feet of related warehouse space.
Other food users are following suit. The Ziegenfelder Company, a national frozen-treat manufacturer, recently opened a facility in Lockhart. At the same time, Hill Country Foodworks LLC (HCF) secured roughly $3.2 million in local incentives from the City Council in September and is expanding production nearby. HCF, which pickles over three million pounds of cucumbers each year and has seen 20–30% annual revenue growth, received $3.2 million in city incentives on September 16 to support its move into a new 62,000-square-foot building at 2605 Dewitt Street, developed by Balcones Real Estate Group. The project will add new production lines, $710,000 in new machinery, and an expanded workforce of 85 employees by 2034—making it one of the largest snack-pickle producers in the U.S.
Lockhart is also attracting ag-tech investment. In September, Sensei Ag Holdings Inc. (Sensei Farms), backed by Larry Ellison, purchased the 25-acre former Iron Ox site at 1205 Reed Drive, where the company plans to invest $50 million. This site includes a 283,000-square-foot greenhouse and robotics facility. Sensei Farms develops sustainable, technology-driven farming systems, reinforcing the area’s growing role in the future of food production. The same site was previously home to Inevitable Tech Inc., a spinoff using artificial intelligence and automation for agriculture.
Lockhart’s logistics advantages are substantial: it’s 26 miles from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, 60 miles from San Antonio, and offers one-day delivery access to 28 million consumers. The city’s population of about 17,000 is supported by a regional labor pool of more than 777,000 workers within a 45-minute drive. Roughly 5,000 new homes are planned in or near the city over the next three years, helping meet labor demand as the area grows.
Developers are also adapting to this demand. At ATX 130 Business Park near ABIA (602,470 SF), two of four buildings are fully leased to tenants such as Ferguson and 3PL Hotline Delivery. In Southeast Austin, projects like Tech 183 and Burleson Tech are being redesigned for smaller, higher-spec industrial users—typically 10,000 to 70,000 SF—reflecting the rise of food and logistics tenants who need modern, efficient space rather than bulk warehouses.
As much of Austin’s industrial market contends with oversupply, Lockhart’s specialization in food logistics and cold-storage infrastructure offers a resilient alternative. Developers and investors seeking long-term stability increasingly recognize the SH 130 corridor as a high-capacity, high-impact growth zone. Lockhart’s strategic location, cost advantages, and expanding ecosystem of advanced food and ag-tech tenants make it one of Central Texas’s most compelling industrial submarkets.