Macquarie Bets on Power in a Tightening Border Market

In 2026, nearshoring ceased to be a race to occupy available warehouses and became a contest to secure future capacity. In Tijuana, that shift is already taking shape: FIBRA Macquarie acquired 124 hectares with guaranteed access to 90 megawatts of power, an input that now conditions industrial expansion along the border.

That capacity is not a technical footnote. It can support multiple advanced manufacturing facilities or large-scale logistics centers in a state where new electrical connections face constraints and lengthy approval timelines, while substations in the region are already operating at 89%-99% of capacity, according to local authorities. In that environment, securing power means securing operational viability from day one.

The $113.8 million transaction, structured in payments over three years, points to a long-cycle strategy aligned with actual market absorption rather than speculative expectations. The project, to be developed in phases and targeting a stabilized yield between 9% and 11% on cost, allows new supply to be introduced as demand consolidates.

In terms of gross leasable area, the site offers development potential of up to 3.4 million square feet, with projects planned under a minimum LEED Gold standard, placing it among the largest development initiatives in the trust’s history. Following the acquisition, FIBRA Macquarie’s industrial development pipeline totals approximately 8.5 million square feet, concentrated primarily in northern Mexico, with additional presence in the Mexico City metropolitan area and Guadalajara.

The property is located along Boulevard 2000, within the La Presa industrial submarket, the second-largest in Tijuana, with more than 17.2 million square feet of built space, according to SiiLA.

With vacancy slightly above 3%, La Presa remains one of Tijuana’s tightest submarkets. However, after the expansion peak in 2022, gross absorption fell from 1.6 million square feet that year to almost 335,000 square feet in 2025, while new inventory deliveries also slowed. That contraction, combined with higher tenant rotation, pushed net absorption into negative territory last year. Even so, rents remained stable, rising around 3% annually, suggesting that the adjustment reflects a normalization in the pace of demand rather than structural deterioration.

In that context, rather than simply expanding immediate inventory, the move alters the trust’s relative position in a market where infrastructure is becoming the primary barrier to entry. Risk, meanwhile, shifts away from short-term leasing and toward timing and execution discipline: entering during a slowdown allows development conditions to be set without the pressure of an overheated market, while rent stability indicates that the structural demand base remains intact.

As a result, the transaction not only reshapes the trust’s exposure but also deepens differentiation in the border industrial market, where not all developers will be able to compete under the same conditions when expansion depends on previously secured infrastructure. In that logic, the next phase of the cycle will reward not only the ability to build, but the ability to anticipate constraints and incorporate them into the capital structure before they are reflected in market pricing.

To learn more about the performance of FIBRAs in Mexico, consult SiiLA FIBRA Analytics or contact us at contacto@siila.com.mx.