SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY. — Walmart will invest $41 million to open a new distribution facility in Shepherdsville, a city roughly 20 miles south of Louisville in Bullitt County. The Arkansas-based retailer will lease a 720,000-square-foot building within Velocity 65 Trade Center, an industrial park located off Interstate 65 along Velocity Way. The center will create 400 full-time jobs upon opening later this fall, and will eventually employ several hundred temporary workers, including seasonal employees. The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority has preliminarily approved Walmart for tax incentives up to $3 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows the company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets. Indianapolis-based Browning Investments is the developer and owner of Velocity 65 Trade Center.
Industrial
ATLANTA — While the development pipeline for industrial real estate is at peak capacity, retail’s new store inventory is taking a back seat. Paul Xhajanka, division real estate manager of Kroger, said that his company is breaking from the past when it would open hundreds of stores a year. “If you look at our store count for the next three to five years, we’re only going to open 20 to 25 stores across our various platforms,” said Xhajanka, referring to Kroger’s portfolio of grocery brands, which include Mariano’s, Harris Teeter and Ralphs. “Target is opening 10 to 20 smaller stores a year, and even Walmart is down to 10 stores a year. All of us are shrinking our inventory of new stores down. Retailers are building more distribution centers, not stores.” Xhajanka’s comments were made during the “Industrial Brokers and Expanding Retailers” panel at the first annual Intersection of Industrial and Retail in the Southeast conference, held Thursday, Aug. 23 at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta. Sponsored by InterFace Conference Group and Southeast Real Estate Business, the half-day event drew more than 170 industrial and retail real estate professionals across the Southeast. Retailers, along with global companies like Amazon and Wayfair, are the …
HOUSTON — Stream Realty Partners has negotiated a 411,460-square-foot industrial lease at Northwest Logistics Center in Houston with Goodman Manufacturing Co. LP, a producer of heating and air conditioning systems. The transaction is the final step in Stream Realty Partners’ “three-step” process, whereby the company develops, leases and sells a project. The company had a sale agreement with the undisclosed buyer before construction commenced. Northwest Logistics Center property features a cross-dock configuration, 32-foot clear heights and ample trailer storage. Seth Koschak of Stream Realty Partners represented Goodman in the lease negotiations. The Houston-based manufacturer plans to move into the building during the fourth quarter.
BANKS COUNTY, GA. — SELIT North America, a manufacturer of polystyrene foams and the U.S. affiliate of SELIT Europe, will invest $45 million to build a new manufacturing facility in northeast Georgia’s Banks County. The new facility will create 100 manufacturing and administrative positions. Based in Germany, SELIT Europe produces foams for acoustic and thermal insulation of floating flooring solutions like laminate, parquet and vinyl floors. SELIT North America is family-owned and holds the largest market share in its North American niche market. SELIT’s products are designed for top-tier flooring manufacturers, as well as do-it-yourself customers. A construction timeline for the Banks County facility was not disclosed.
BUFORD, GA. — Architecture firm Ware Malcomb has completed design on the new 985 Lanier Logistics Center located on Georgia State Road 13 and Lanier Islands Parkway in Buford, roughly 38 miles northeast of Atlanta. McCraney Property Co. is developing the project, and Evans General Contractor is building the facility. Construction has begun on the project, which will include three buildings totaling 615,572 square feet. The project will be able to accommodate tenants ranging in size from 25,000 to 236,000 square feet. The buildings will feature 32-foot clear heights, 38- to 42-foot dock high doors, tilt-up concrete panels, glass and a framed metal canopy at the building entrance. The project also includes 160 tractor-trailer stalls.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — EFL Expo Freight and TwinMed LLC have signed new leases at CreekSide Industrial Center in Columbus. The Pizzuti Companies and USAA Real Estate own the property. EFL Expo Freight has leased an additional 84,916 square feet at CreekSide XVI for a total lease of 155,871 square feet. TwinMed has leased 101,000 square feet at CreekSide XVI and XVIII. With warehouses in nine states throughout the country, TwinMed is a distributor of medical supplies. Mike Spencer of Lee & Associates represented EFL Expo Freight in the lease transaction, while Joel Yakovac of Colliers International represented TwinMed. Phil Rasey of Pizzuti represented ownership in both lease transactions.
MT. JULIET, TENN. — Go Store It has acquired A+ Self Storage, a 685-unit self-storage facility in Mt. Juliet, roughly 20 miles east of Nashville. The property totals more than 90,000 square feet and marks Go Store It’s third acquisition in the Nashville metropolitan area this year. The name of the seller and the sales price were not disclosed. Based in Charlotte, Go Store It specializes in the acquisition, development and management of self-storage assets throughout the country. The company currently has more than 2 million square feet of storage space under management and in the construction pipeline.
ENGLEWOOD, COLO. — Newmark Knight Frank has arranged the sale of an industrial property located at 8640 S. Peoria St. Building No. 6 in Englewood, a suburb of Denver. IBC Concord IV LLC sold the 42,720-square-foot asset to Peoria Street Properties LLC for $7 million. Keith Bell, Jason Addlesperger and David Lee of Newmark Knight Frank represented the seller, while CBRE represented the buyer in the transaction.
SHAFTER, CALIF. — Ross Stores has signed a lease for 1 million square feet of industrial space at 4100 Express Ave. within Wonderful Industrial Park in Shafter. Ross has been an occupant of Wonderful Industrial Park, developed by Wonderful Real Estate Development, since 2014 and currently owns a 1.7 million-square-foot distribution center located near the newly leased property. The fully entitled, 1,625-acre Wonderful Industrial Park is a rail-served industrial development entitled for 26 million square feet. The property currently offers 7.6 million square feet of completed buildings. Additional tenants at Wonderful Industrial Park include Target, American Tire Distributors, Essendant, DMSI, MRC Global and Formica. The park features an on-site rail yard with more than 17,000 feet of track with direct access to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway’s mainline.
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Levin Johnston of Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a vacant industrial/flex warehouse located at 524 E. Brokhaw Road in San Jose. A private local investor sold the property to an undisclosed buyer for $3.4 million. Adam Levin of Levin Johnston represented the seller in the transaction. Situated on 0.73 acres, the 10,000-square-foot facility features 800 ampere, 120-240-volt heavy power, on-site parking and a fenced yard.