NATICK, MASS. — Design-build firm Dacon Corp. has completed a 7,400-square-foot industrial and life sciences expansion project in Natick, a western suburb of Boston. The project is a build-to-suit for Kula Bio, which specializes in the production of agricultural products that serve as replacements to synthetic fertilizers. The facility includes manufacturing, office and research-and-development space. Kula Bio initially opened its 7,500-square-foot headquarters in Natick in late 2021 with the expectation of expanding.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based Byline Bank’s Commercial Real Estate Group has provided $19.1 million in acquisition financing for six industrial properties in the metro Chicago and New Jersey markets. The borrower was VK Industrial Holdings VI LLC, an acquisition fund formed through a partnership between Venture One Real Estate and Kovitz Investment Group. The transaction marks the third deal Venture One has completed with Byline Bank. The specific properties were not provided.
IOWA CITY, IOWA — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Oak Crest Storage, a 261-unit self-storage facility in Iowa City. The sales price was undisclosed. Built in 1999 and located at 4942 Oak Crest Hill Road SE, the property features 27 climate-controlled units, 101 non-climate-controlled units, 22 enclosed parking spaces, 109 uncovered parking spaces and two leasable offices. Overall, the asset totals 34,397 rentable square feet. George Kondracke, Brian Kelly, Gabriel Coe, Nathan Coe and Brett Hatcher of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller and procured the buyer, Streamlined Storage, which now maintains four locations in Iowa. Jon Ruzicka, broker of record in Iowa, assisted in the transaction.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Net Lease Office Properties has completed the sale of a single-tenant data center and office campus on Shea Boulevard in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale. Terms of the transaction were not released. Situated on more than 38 acres, the 354,888-square-foot asset serves as a mission-critical data and operations center for CVS. Peter Bauman and Tivon Moffitt of Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, represented the seller and procured the buyer in the deal.
PLEASANT GROVE, UTAH — Dakota Pacific Real Estate, in partnership with Brasa Capital Management, has completed the sale of two Class A industrial warehouses in Pleasant Grove, between Salt Lake City and Provo. A national industrial investment firm acquired the assets for an undisclosed price. Totaling more than 427,000 square feet, the two buildings are fully leased to six diverse companies. The project development team included Big-D Construction, Mitre Peak and Zions Bank. Lucas Burbank and Ben Richardson of Newmark led the leasing efforts of the project. Burbank, Richardson and Jim Linn of Newmark handled the sales transaction.
TEMPE, ARIZ. — Evergreen Devco has acquired 12.7 acres of land at the southeast corner of 48th Street and Alameda Drive in Tempe for $13 million. The company plans to develop 48th @ Alameda, an industrial project, on the site. The acquired parcel includes two sites: Jim Wilson of Cushman & Wakefield will list the project for sale or lease.
SAN DIEGO — San Diego-based EZ Fit Movers LLC has purchased an industrial building located at 2548 Cactus Road in the Otay Mesa submarket of San Diego. A local development company sold the asset for $11.4 million. EZ Fit Movers entered into a build-to-suit agreement in 2021 with the seller with the intent of occupying the 44,278-square-foot building. EZ Fit Movers will occupy more than half of the office and warehouse space of the facility. Todd Holley of Voit Real Estate Services represented the buyer, while CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.
— By Erick Parulan — The Orange County industrial market, along with Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, is experiencing a general decline in leasing activity as it navigates the post-pandemic landscape. Tenant demand and leasing have significantly slowed as occupiers adopt a more cautious approach to expansion, with some occupiers deciding to downsize and consolidate their industrial footprints. Tenant occupancies continue to contract in the second quarter, with manufacturers, retailers and 3PL (third-party logistics) companies shedding unused space that may have been acquired during the pandemic frenzy, further increasing sublet availabilities. Orange County sublet availabilities surpassed 3.3 million square feet in the second quarter of 2024, raising total availabilities to 9.5 percent for the quarter. While pandemic-driven rental rates hit historic highs, they have since cooled amid softening demand. Many landlords now offer increased free rent concessions to attract new tenants. Average asking lease rates have been on the decline in Orange County over the past two quarters. They decreased by 5.2 percent from the prior quarter, reaching $1.64 per square foot in second-quarter 2024. High market rents previously deterred many occupiers, but with rents on the decline, some tenants have adopted a wait-and-see approach to see where rates …
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Hunt Midwest has sold a portion of its industrial outdoor storage portfolio at Hunt Midwest Business Center in Kansas City to national industrial outdoor storage firm Alterra IOS. The Philadelphia-based firm purchased 58 acres at three locations along Parvin Road and Arlington Avenue. The facilities include staging lots leased by Adrian Steel, a manufacturer for commercial van and truck equipment, and Ford Motor Co.’s North American Vehicle Logistics Outbound Shipping Center, the waystation for nearly every Ford Transit built in North America. Austin Baier of CBRE represented Hunt Midwest, while Joe Orscheln of CBRE represented Alterra IOS, which now owns more than 250 properties across 30 states.
WHITELAND, IND. — Sojo Industries has signed a 151,950-square-foot industrial lease in Lot 5 of Mohr Logistics Park in Whiteland, a southern suburb of Indianapolis. Mark Writt of CBRE represented ownership, Mohr Capital. Jim Scott and Steve Shaub of Avison Young represented the tenant, which is a technology company engaged in advanced robotics, mobile manufacturing and modular packaging solutions for delivering packaging and assembly services for the food-and-beverage industry. Sojo maintains production facilities in Pennsylvania, California, Texas and Indiana, along with mobile sites throughout the country. All locations utilize high-speed automated lines and robotics to handle packaging materials. Additional tenants at Mohr Logistics Park include Goodyear, DHL and Turn 14. The industrial park totals 475 acres, and Mohr plans to develop more than 7 million square feet of bulk industrial buildings.