LIVE OAK, TEXAS — Texas-based electrical contractor Alterman has debuted its new 190,000 square-foot first headquarters campus in the northeastern San Antonio suburb of Live Oak. The 20-acre site is located at intersection of Loop 1604 and I-35, and the campus consists of a 100,000-square-foot logistics and manufacturing building and a 90,000-square-foot office building. Studio8 Architects designed the campus, and Whiting-Turner Construction served as the general contractor. Construction began in fall 2022.
PHILADELPHIA — Los Angeles-based Thorofare Capital has provided a $13 million loan for the refinancing of a portfolio of five industrial buildings totaling 118,509 square feet in Philadelphia. Four of the buildings are contiguous, and the fifth is located less than a mile down the street. David Perlman, Edward Prosser, Henry Johnson and Chris DeLuca of Thorofare Capital originated the loan on behalf of the borrower, New York City-based investment firm Thor Equities Group.
Sometimes smaller is better. “Sometimes” is of course the operative term in that controversial and wholly non-salacious statement. But in the context of industrial real estate, it’s becoming increasingly clear that at this point in the cycle, smaller buildings make more sense for developers to deliver as e-commerce and distribution users actively consolidate their footprints. “Most leases in New Jersey and Pennsylvania over the last 12 months were for less than 500,000 square feet, with 50,000 to 200,000 square feet being the ‘sweet spot,’ for leasing,” says Anthony Amadeo, executive vice president at New Jersey-based developer Woodmont Industrial Partners. “There is strong demand [for that product type], but other developers are now building it too, so we’re going to see some elevated competition in that space.” This activity is occurring across the country in varying degrees. But in markets like New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania, where sites that can support large-scale developments are extremely scarce and entitlement and permitting processes tend to be long and arduous, the trend is perhaps even more pronounced. Yet those longstanding characteristics of the Garden State and Lehigh Valley industrial markets are only partial reasons as to why new developments and deals are effectively downsizing. …
WEBSTER, N.Y. — The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) has broken ground on a $650 million production facility for its dairy brand Fairlife in the Central New York community of Webster, located just west of Rochester. About 250 people are expected to work at the 745,000-square-foot facility, which will source from local milk co-operatives to produce its line of dairy-based beverages before distributing them to retailers across the region. Completion is slated for the fourth quarter of 2025. Empire State Development provided $21 million in assistance for the project through the performance-based Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program in exchange for job creation commitments. The Atlanta-based soft drink giant acquired Fairlife in 2020.
NASHUA, N.H. — Can-One USA has opened a 180,000-square-foot beverage container manufacturing plant in Nashua, located near the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border. The facility will provide cans for an array of beverage types, including beer, soft drinks, juices and sparkling waters, allowing the company to reach production outputs of more than 2 billion aluminum beverage cans annually. Locally based design-build firm PROCON handled architectural and general contracting duties for the project. The Kane Co. developed the property.
ASTON, PA. — Walker & Dunlop Investment Partners has provided $6.2 million in equity for a 100,000-square-foot industrial project that will be located at 48 Chichester Ave. in Aston, a western suburb of Philadelphia. According to LoopNet Inc., the project will feature a clear height of 36 feet, 10 exterior dock doors and 2,500 square feet of office space. The name of the developer was not disclosed.
MCCALLA, ALA. — Graham & Co. has negotiated the $13 million sale of a 111,983-square-foot distribution and manufacturing facility located in McCalla, about 20 miles southwest of Birmingham. The building, which is fully leased to auto supplier MOBIS, features 30-foot ceiling heights, 21 dock-high doors, ESFR sprinklers and a 130-foot truck court. Sonny Culp of Graham & Co., along with Doug Longyear of Cushman & Wakefield, brokered the transaction. PMUDO Alabama LLC purchased the facility from the developer, an entity doing business as AMR REIT Prestige Industrial II LLC. Built in 2022, the property is situated on 11 acres within Jefferson Metropolitan Industrial Park off I-20.
BOYNTON BEACH, FLA. — Venture One Real Estate has acquired an industrial portfolio in South Florida through its acquisition fund, VK Industrial VI LP, which is cosponsored by Kovitz Investment Group. The portfolio comprises 197,600 square feet across three buildings located at 1200, 1210 and 1220 S.W. 35th Ave. in Boynton Beach. The properties were constructed between 2000 and 2019 and feature 30- to 35-foot clear heights, ESFR sprinkler systems and dock-high and drive-in loading positions. Tenant spaces within the buildings range from 9,000 to 44,000 square feet. Mike Davis, Dominic Montazemi and Greg Miller of Cushman & Wakefield represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed. Christopher Thomson, Matthew McAllister and Eric Cantor of Cushman & Wakefield will market the property for lease on behalf of the buyer.
By Henry Graham of Graham & Co. As a reminder to those who may have missed my colleague Sonny Culp’s article from last year, 2021 and 2022 saw the delivery of more than 10 sizable build-to-suits to the Birmingham/Central Alabama region. Such rapid growth in the industrial sector grabbed the attention of larger industrial developers that have generally allowed Birmingham to fly under the radar. Case-in-point, in the years from 2008 through 2016, the greater Birmingham metropolitan area was essentially devoid of any speculative industrial development. Instead, the pipeline of industrial projects was centered around owner-occupied spaces and the occasional build-to-suit related to the automotive sector or light manufacturing. On the tailwinds of the recent build-to-suit frenzy and COVID-fueled supply demands, Birmingham experienced a flurry of speculative activity in 2022 and 2023 as regional and even national developers like Scannell Properties tested the waters alongside Alabama-based industrial developers. Along a half-mile stretch of Daniel Payne Industrial Boulevard that sits just north of the central business district (CBD) and not far from the intersection of I-65 and I-20/59, four Class A spec buildings came up in rapid succession totaling 737,000 square feet. Two of those buildings are now fully leased …
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — U-Haul has broken ground on a 1,400-unit self-storage facility located at 3500 Powder House Road in Sioux Falls. Named U-Haul Moving & Storage of Veterans Parkway, the development is slated for completion in early 2025. The eight-acre property will include two three-story buildings with 700 units each. Customers will have 24-hour access, and units will include high-end security features. Plans call for a separate warehouse to hold 1,250 mobile storage containers. Customers will also have access to moving trucks, trailers, boxes and packing supplies, professional hitch installation and towing equipment.