-- HFA's Daniela Villagran and Ana Larranaga advise industrial developers on compliance, power availability and local partnerships as Mexico's U.S. exports continue to grow.

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tightening trade rules and evolving supplier networks are reshaping site selection and design on nearshoring projects in Mexico, advised two members of the industrial and logistics team at HFA Architecture + Engineering.

"The North American industrial ecosystem is becoming more tightly integrated by the day, creating strong opportunities for U.S.-based industrial developers while also adding significant complexities," write HFA's Daniela Villagran and Ana Larranaga in a newly published industrial real estate advisory column.

Architect Villagran leads the industrial and logistics team in HFA's Mexico City office, working alongside Larranaga, who supports national, local and international initiatives as HFA's industrial-sector client partnership lead.

Their advisory piece "Nearshoring 2.0 Is About Building a Complete North American Industrial Ecosystem" offers tips for U.S.-based developers aiming to build in Mexico.

Build compliance imperatives into the design brief
Finding the right site requires a strong grasp of Mexico's permitting environment, infrastructure networks, labor dynamics, transportation connectivity and industrial real estate corridors. When it comes to site selection, the authors note, developers should focus not just on land and construction costs, "but also on things like supplier access, customs turnaround times and transportation connectivity."

Tightening trade rules mean that manufacturers are increasingly focused on goals such as rerouting where parts and materials come from, keeping sourcing compliant, and buying enough from North American suppliers to qualify for lower tariffs. A U.S.-based developer, for example, might plan an industrial park or campus so that the manufacturer and its key suppliers can co-locate on adjacent sites and share rail spurs, road access and utilities.

"The design brief needs to incorporate these kinds of strategic imperatives from day one," advise Villagran and Larranaga.

Tap local knowledge for faster project-delivery
The material choices, level of detail, professional certifications and building codes that prevail in Mexico also need to be fully understood by the AEC team.

"Just as acronyms like LEED, RFI, ADA and MEP are widely used in the United States, AEC pros in Mexico have their own alphabet soup of jargon and concepts," the authors observe. "Examples include NTCs (for Normas Técnicas Complementarias) and design- and construction-related NOMs (for Normas Oficiales Mexicanas)."

Understanding the utilities landscape is important as well, in part because obtaining actionable information from public officials can at times be difficult in parts of Mexico.

"In some markets, access to power availability and reliability has become the deciding site-selection factor," write Larranaga and Villagran. "You want to have the right local partners in place to identify challenges early and evaluate realistic solutions before they become costly surprises."

But if the local power supply is inconsistent, this does not have to be an insurmountable obstacle. Engineers can help U.S. developers explore options like a hybrid microgrid that combines solar panels and battery storage with natural gas generators.

"Mexico is seeing a lot of growth in data centers, in particular," the authors note. "In some cases, the location might be strong enough to justify extraordinary efforts to secure power and water supplies. Just remember that permitting and compliance could be a lengthy process."

Lay the groundwork with early collaboration
The authors encourage U.S. developers to start building relationships with public officials, economic development experts and AEC specialists. It's the first step to developing an effective playbook for Nearshoring 2.0.

"Our view is that manufacturing has a bright future in North America," conclude Villagran and Larranaga, who are part of a collaborative, cross-border team that brings 30 years of industrial experience and includes specialists in engineering, refrigeration, automation, civil engineering and commissioning. "For developers, success in today's more tightly integrated supply chain will come from understanding how to build the right project in the right place."

The full advisory column is available at https://hfa-ae.com/blog/nearshoring

Note to editors: Larranaga and Villagran are available for interviews related to nearshoring and industrial site selection and design.

About HFA Architecture + Engineering
HFA is a 100% employee-owned, multidisciplinary architecture and engineering firm with more than 30 years of experience and offices in Bentonville, Arkansas; Fort Worth, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; Springfield, Missouri; Boston and Franklin, Massachusetts; and Mexico City. With a team of 650+ professionals, HFA delivers client-focused design solutions across retail, hospitality, industrial, healthcare, and science and technology sectors.

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SOURCE HFA Architecture + Engineering