HOUSTON AND NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between SparrowHawk and New York City-based Almanac Realty Investors has acquired a 20-property, 4.4 million-square-foot industrial portfolio located across six markets in the Midwest. Stockholm-based global investment firm EQT sold the portfolio for nearly $400 million.
Brian Walsh, Lucas Borges, Steve Klein, Chris Pratt, Emma Berner and Christian Johnston of JLL Capital Markets secured a five-year, $236 million acquisition loan through PPM America on behalf of the buyers.
“This acquisition accelerates SparrowHawk’s strategic expansion in the Midwest with a portfolio that is integral to connecting industrial occupiers to the large consumer markets driving logistics and e-commerce growth,” says Alfredo Gutierrez, president and founder of SparrowHawk.
The assets, which are spread throughout St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Louisville, were 94 percent leased at the time of sale to 30 tenants across multiple industries such as logistics and distribution; business and professional services; industrial and manufacturing; e-commerce and retail; and wholesale and supply distribution.
According to various media sources, 50 percent of the collection by square footage is located in St. Louis, while Cincinnati holds approximately one-fifth of the portfolio.
The industrial properties feature 30-foot average clear heights, extensive dock capacity, tilt-up and precast concrete construction, cross-dock and rear-load capabilities, as well as truck courts ranging in size from 115 to 205 feet. The properties also include a mix of single-tenant and multi-tenant configurations with an average building size of 221,000 square feet. Additionally, the buildings were delivered in 2006 on average.
In addition to this acquisition, Almanac partnered with SparrowHawk late last year, committing $300 million of growth capital to the Houston-based company. SparrowHawk’s portfolio now totals more than $1 billion with roughly 10 million square feet in assets under management.
EQT Real Estate acquires, develops, leases and manages logistics and residential properties in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The firm manages about $58 billion in gross asset value; owns and operates over 2,000 properties spanning 470 million square feet; and employs more than 400 professionals across 50 locations globally.
— Abby Cox