Depending on who’s speaking, or what you’re reading, the forecasts for the 2016 Houston industrial real estate market run the full spectrum from bull to bear. Whether you are a landlord trying to fill a vacancy; a developer weighing the decision on whether to build or not; or an investor or a potential tenant looking for the best lease terms, your decision making is driven by a few key factors. These include the price of oil and where you think it is headed, the type of industrial facility you build/own/require, and in what submarket of Houston it is located. With current oil prices hovering in the low $30s per barrel, and threatening to go lower, you don’t have to look hard to find plenty of economists forecasting a rough 2016 for Houston industrial real estate. But that’s not the whole picture. No doubt the ongoing drilling downturn has hit the city hard. A recent survey was conducted of single-tenant manufacturing facilities ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 square feet in the West, Northwest and North Houston submarkets. The survey reported over 2.4 million square feet available in 120 buildings, with an additional 240,000 square feet under construction in 15 more buildings. …
KENNESAW, GA. — TerraCap Management LLC has purchased Bailey Park, a five-building, 198,475-square-foot industrial/flex park located in Kennesaw, a northern suburb of Atlanta. The private equity fund manager purchased the asset for $18.3 million, marking the first time the company has acquired a property outside of Florida. The park features 12-, 14- and 18-foot clear heights; grade-level and dock-high loading; surface parking and well-maintained landscaping. TerraCap has retained Lincoln Property Co. to provide leasing and management services to the park, which is currently 80 percent leased. Tom Shafer of CBRE represented the seller, J.W. Richardson Enterprises Inc., in the transaction.
ELGIN, ILL. — Associated Bank has closed a $10.6 million acquisition and bridge loan for a 246,446-square-foot industrial property in Elgin, approximately 40 miles northwest of Chicago. Molto Properties was the borrower and acquired the newly-constructed building from Ryan Cos. The cross-dock industrial building is located at 2770 Alft Court within the Randall Crossings Business Park. Molto Properties, founded in 2008, focuses on the acquisition, development and operation of real estate. Craig Przygoda of Associated Bank managed the loan.
WEST CHESTER, OHIO — CBRE has arranged the sale of 9.1 acres of land in West Chester, approximately 22 miles north of Cincinnati. Becknell Industrial acquired the property from IDI Gazeley and plans to build a 138,750-square-foot industrial building on the land. The plot of land is located at the corner of Union Centre Boulevard and LeSaint Drive and is part of Port Union at Union Center, a master-planned park. Construction is scheduled to start this spring. Jeremy Kraus of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. CBRE will also market the property on behalf of Becknell.
GREENFIELD, IND. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged a $43 million sale-leaseback of a cold storage distribution center in Greenfield, approximately 25 miles east of Indianapolis. Centurion Investments LLC acquired the 419,052-square-foot asset from Smithfield Foods Inc. and is subsequently leasing it back to a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods. The distribution center is situated on 48 acres and is located within the Axcess 70 Business Park. The facility includes 203,081 square feet of cooler space, 81,086 square feet of freezer space, 40,498 square feet of swing rooms, two floors of office space, 48-foot clear heights and the opportunity to expand by an additional 200,000 square feet. Scott Goldman, Michael Christian and Jeff Castell of Cushman & Wakefield represented Smithfield Foods in the transaction.
MORTON GROVE, ILL. — The Missner Group has acquired a 152,000-square-foot industrial warehouse in Morton Grove, approximately 16 miles northwest of Chicago, for an undisclosed price. The facility is located at 8338 Austin Ave. and features 16-foot clear heights, five exterior docks, one drive-in door and 76,000 square feet of office space. The building, situated on 7.3 acres, is currently 100 percent leased to two tenants, Schwarz Supply Source and Integrated Merchandising Systems LLC. Eric Sorenson and Dirk Riekse of Cushman & Wakefield represented The Missner Group in the purchase of the property. The Cushman & Wakefield team also represented the building’s undisclosed seller.
INDIANAPOLIS — JLL has arranged a 43,750-square-foot industrial lease in Indianapolis. Carpet Cushion & Supplies, a wholesale distributer of carpet pads and flooring installation products, will occupy the space at 6737 E. 30th St. The facility was built in 1995 and features high-quality finishes that will work well as a showroom for Carpet Cushion & Supplies. Brian Seitz and Brian Buschuk of JLL represented the landlord, First Industrial, in the transaction. Joel Friedland and Steve Stone of Transwestern and Steve Schwegman of JLL represented the tenant.
LONGMONT, COLO. — U.S. Engineering has purchased a 106,180-square-foot industrial building in Berthoud for $7.7 million. The facility is located at 390 Mountain View Drive, just north of Longmont. It was built in 1999. The full-service mechanical contractor plans to occupy the entire building. Bruce Mawhinnie of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the buyer. Matt Trone, Sam Slaton and Steve Hager represented the seller, PTI USA Manufacturing.
PEARLAND, TEXAS — Robert Loeb, Jeff Bailey and Brian Cisarik of SurePoint Self Storage plan to open a fourth location in the Houston market. The new self-storage property will be located in Pearland near the intersection of Broadway and Kirby drives. Additionally, SurePoint Self Storage is poised to begin construction in the next 60 days on their third facility in the Houston market, a three-story, 119,000-square-foot self-storage facility on Barker Cypress Road in Houston. The SurePoint team is concluding construction on a similar project on Spring Cypress Road just east of Grant Road in Cypress, as well as a four-story self-storage building in Richmond near Highway 59 and the Grand Parkway.
MONROE, OHIO — CBRE has arranged a 218,704-square-foot industrial lease at a building within Park North at Monroe. Hagemeyer North America, a distributor of industrial maintenance, repair and operations products, will lease the remaining space in the 649,312-square-foot Building 4. Park North at Monroe is a master-planned park located midway between Cincinnati and Dayton. Additional tenants at the park include SSB Manufacturing, Cornerstone Brands, Home Depot and UGN Inc. Jeremy Kraus of CBRE represented the building’s developer, IDI Gazeley, in the transaction. Eric Ramer of ICON Commercial and Josh Young of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the tenant, Hagemeyer North America.