CLEVELAND — The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) has unveiled plans to open a new customer fulfillment center in the Cleveland area for grocery delivery services. Technology company Ocado Group will operate the facility, which will span 270,000 square feet. The facility will utilize robotics for automated production, but it also expected to create up to 400 new jobs in the area. Completion of the project is slated for 24 months after construction begins. The warehouse, which will service Northeast Ohio and Pennsylvania, marks the second customer fulfillment center in the state of Ohio for Kroger and Ocado. A specific location for the project was not released.
CICERO, ILL. — Cawley Chicago has arranged the sale of a 130,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Cicero for an undisclosed price. The property sits on more than three acres at 4620 W. 19th St. Frank Melchert and Matt Garland of Cawley Chicago represented the seller, a private individual who had operated a business at the property for 31 years. Local business and metal fabricator Accurate Perforating Co. was the buyer.
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Northmarq has arranged $35 million in refinancing for a seven-building industrial asset located at 1100-1070 Commercial St. in San Jose. Built in 1995 on 18.6 acres, the property features 337,585 square feet of industrial space with one-third warehouse space, one-third light industrial and one-third incubator space. John Kerslake and Briana Harney of Northmarq’s San Francisco debt/equity office secured the 10-year, interest-only loan for the borrower through the firm’s correspondent relationship with a life insurance company.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Kansas City-based Hunt Midwest has sold Blankenbaker Logistics Center, a 322,831-square-foot, cross-dock industrial facility, for $43 million. Newport Beach, Calif.-based Bixby Land Co. purchased the property. Piston Automotive signed a lease for the whole building prior to construction completion. Chris Riley and Kevin Grove of CBRE represented Hunt Midwest, and Bixby Land Co. was unrepresented in the transaction. Blankenbaker Logistics Center is located within Blankenbaker Station, a Class A, mixed-use business park in eastern Jefferson County. The property offers access to Interstates 64 and 265, UPS Worldport, Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, GE Appliance Park, Ford’s Kentucky Assembly Plant and an adjacent 300,000-square-foot FedEx Ground terminal.
GRENADA, MISS. — Stan Johnson Co. has arranged the sale of a single-tenant, 288,000-square-foot industrial facility in Grenada. Mike Sladich and Maggie Holmes of Stan Johnson Co. represented the seller, an Illinois-based industrial developer, Agracel Inc. The buyer, a Dallas, Texas-based REIT, purchased the property for approximately $21.3 million. The property is leased to Advanced Distributors Products (ADP), a producer of residential evaporator coils. The industrial facility serves as the distribution center for the tenant’s manufacturing plant, which is located less than one mile east of the property. Originally built in 2017 as an 84,000-square-foot warehouse, the property was expanded by 70 percent to its current size. Prior to leasing the property, ADP was using part of its neighboring 379,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for warehouse and distribution space. The tenant spent approximately $20 million moving into the new distribution center and repurposing the existing facility into a full manufacturing plant. Adjacent industrial park tenants include Novipax, Resolute Forest Products, Ice Industries and Averitt. Located at 445 American Way, the property has access to Interstate 55, the Grenada Municipal Airport and the Grenada Railroad.
CRESTWOOD, ILL. — A joint venture between Clear Height Properties and Harbert US Real Estate, an investment fund sponsored by Harbert Management Corp., has acquired a four-building industrial portfolio in the Chicago suburb of Crestwood for an undisclosed price. The portfolio spans 131,733 square feet and is 88 percent leased to 19 tenants. The buildings were constructed between 1989 and 1991. Walter Murphy of Lee & Associates represented the undisclosed seller.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Houston-based developer McCormack Commercial has broken ground on Meacham Commerce Center, a 1.3 million-square-foot industrial project in Fort Worth. Meacham Commerce Center will consist of four buildings with cross-dock and rear-load configurations that will be situated on an 80-acre site on the city’s north side. The first building will span 334,750 square feet and will feature 36-foot clear heights and parking for 240 cars and 103 trailers. Completion of that building is slated for the third quarter. Holt Lunsford has been tapped as the leasing agent.
DENTON, TEXAS — Illinois-based investment firm ML Realty Partners has acquired a 153,150-square-foot industrial building located at 2340 I-35 W. Service Road in the North Texas city of Denton. According to commercialcafé.com, the freestanding property was built on a 36.3-acre site in 2006. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. ML Realty Partners has tapped CBRE to lease the building.
COPPELL, TEXAS — Biotechnology firm Genera has signed a 260,819-square-foot industrial lease renewal and expansion at 600 Freeport Parkway in Coppell, located near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Matt Hyman and Bryan Parker represented the landlord, Indianapolis-based Duke Realty, in the lease negotiations on an internal basis.
BAYONNE, N.J. — Locally based developer Lincoln Equities Group will soon break ground on Lincoln Logistics Bayonne, a 332,640-square-foot speculative industrial project in Northern New Jersey. The facility will be situated on a 24-acre tract within a 153-acre waterfront site at which an 886,256-square-foot UPS shipping hub is currently under construction. Lincoln Logistics Bayonne will feature five acres of parking space that can support 195 trailers and 225 cars, or 45 trailers and 800 cars. Cushman & Wakefield is marketing the project for lease. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of the year.