DALLAS — The Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) industrial market posted a vacancy rate of 6.5 percent to close the third quarter while seeing its 11-year streak of positive quarterly absorption remain intact, according to a new report from Newmark Knight Frank (NKF). Though overall vacancy is up 30 basis points from a year ago, the metroplex absorbed approximately 3.6 million square feet of space in the most recent quarter, down just 7 percent from that period in 2019. This activity indicates that industrial users are still attracted to the market’s exceptional job and population growth despite the recession-inducing COVID-19 pandemic. While third-quarter net absorption was also down from the second quarter of this year, industrial users and owners transacted more leases (604) in that period, up from 486 deals during the previous quarter. Among the largest deals inked in the third quarter were Uline’s 1.1 million-square-foot lease in Las Colinas, Amazon’s 1 million-square-foot lease in southeast Dallas and HelloFresh’s 375,000-square-foot lease, also in Las Colinas. Year-to-date, the market has already absorbed more than 17 million square feet of industrial space. The report pegged the amount of industrial product under construction at roughly 28.3 million square feet, but with vacancy up 300 …
DECATUR, GA. — Dermody Properties will develop LogistiCenter at Miller Road, a 154,440-square-foot industrial property in Decatur. Dermody expects to break ground by the end of this year and to deliver the asset in the third quarter of 2021. The facility will be divisible by 77,220 square feet and will offer build-to-suit office space, 35 dock-high doors, 32-foot clear heights, 145 car parking spaces, 23 trailer spaces and ESFR sprinklers. Dermody recently closed on the 11-acre plot, which is situated at 2800 Miller Road, 14 miles east of downtown Atlanta and one mile from Interstate 20. Austin Brannen and Matt Bentley of NAI Brannen Goddard will be the leasing brokers for the project. Jacob & Hefner Associates is engineering the site plans, and Ware Malcomb is the architect for the shell design.
WASHINGTON, MO. — Contegra Construction Co. has completed building a new headquarters and manufacturing facility for Melton Machine & Control Co. in Washington, about 50 miles west of St. Louis. The 367,000-square-foot project more than doubles the size of the company’s existing 154,000-square-foot operations. The development includes a 74,000-square-foot corporate office, training and conference space, and is designed to improve collaboration and support with nearby subsidiary Computech Manufacturing Co. The headquarters is situated on 42 acres within Heidmann Industrial Park. Joining Contegra on the project team were Gray Design Group, 21 Design Group, Case Structural Engineering, RJP Electric, Wiegmann Associates, Heggemann Plumbing, Bi-State Fire Protection and Washington Engineering & Architecture. Melton designs and builds automated welding systems for a variety of industries. The company employs 132 workers and plans to add another 20 employees at the new facility.
FLINT, MICH. — Mag Mile Capital has arranged a $3.8 million loan for the acquisition of a 57,500-square-foot distribution center fully leased to FedEx Corp. in Flint. Located adjacent to Bishop International Airport, the facility was constructed as a build-to-suit for FedEx more than 20 years ago. Mag Mile Capital arranged the seven-year, fixed-rate loan on behalf of the buyer, Bryan Rishforth and his Philadelphia-based firm, R&R Global Partners. The lender was undisclosed. Stan Johnson Co. marketed the property on behalf of the undisclosed seller.
NEW JERSEY — The New Jersey industrial market has maintained its historically high rate of rent growth and low rate of vacancy through the third quarter, respectively clocking in at $9.39 per square foot and 3 percent, according to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield. Demand for industrial space from e-commerce and third-party logistics users fueled the performances of both metrics as consumers increasingly spent more time at home and shopped online amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Year-to-date, the Garden State has absorbed more than 6.5 million square feet of industrial space, down only slightly from the 7.2 million square feet absorbed by the end of the third quarter in 2019. However, Jason Price, the firm’s director of Tri-State research, noted that the moderate decline in year-to-date absorption was more attributable to lack of supply than diminished tenant demand. Construction activity has risen over the first nine months of 2020 relative to that period in 2019 as the market has shown signs of being undersupplied. Year-to-date, developers have delivered some 8.1 million square feet of new inventory, a 28.6 percent increase from the 6.3 million square feet delivered through the first three quarters of last year. In addition, New Jersey’s …
BEAVERTON, ORE. — Smartcap, a Seattle-based real estate investment firm, has purchased The Cortez Building, a warehouse and office property located at 701 SW 158th Ave. in Beaverton, a suburb eight miles west of Portland. An undisclosed seller sold the asset for $12.2 million. Nike Inc. occupies the 73,200-square-foot flex property through April 2025. The apparel company has leased the building since its delivery in 1994. Keith Young of Kidder Mathews and Denis Mehigan of The Mehigan Co. represented the buyer in the transaction.
By Mary Lamie, Bi-State Development The key to current and future success for four ports in Missouri and Illinois is collaboration. As ports continue to play a critical role in the global supply chain, the special working relationship between the directors of the ports in St. Louis and Kansas City is helping to keep operations flowing on the inland waterways, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant investments in each port are also fueling growth at each facility. “Like many others in the freight industry, we are classified as essential. We have access to six Class I railroads, two multimodal harbors, four interstate highways and millions of square feet of warehouse space, plus manufacturing areas and developable sites,” says Dennis Wilmsmeyer, executive director of America’s Central Port (ACP), where the constant level of activity reinforces the significance of all ports as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. With its location just north of St. Louis on the Illinois bank of the Mississippi River and its many transportation and logistical advantages, ACP has attracted 80-plus commercial tenants. Its harbor operators transport more than 3 million tons of goods valued at more than $1.1 billion annually. Though the pandemic has resulted in …
OMAHA, NEB. — McCarthy Building Cos. has completed the conversion of a decades-old warehouse into a headquarters, manufacturing facility and showroom for Elliott Equipment Co. in Omaha. The 220,000-square-foot project includes a renovated 26,000-square-foot office building originally constructed in 1982 and a modernized 194,000-square-foot warehouse originally built in 1977. Elliott has consolidated manufacturing operations that had been spread out across five buildings in different locations across Omaha. Founded in Omaha in 1948, Elliott specializes in designing and manufacturing cranes, trucks and aerial platforms.
MARIETTA, GA. — Cushman & Wakefield has negotiated the sale of Kingston Court, a six-property industrial portfolio in Marietta. The facilities total 220,373 square feet and feature 18-foot clear heights and dock-high and drive-in doors in a combination of rear- and front-load configurations. The buildings were originally developed between 1978 and 1981. The portfolio is situated at 2171, 3002, 3061, 3062, 4012 and 4041 Kingston Court, a half-mile from Interstate 75 and 16 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta. Stewart Calhoun and Casey Masters of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Clarion Partners, in the transaction. Dallas-based Stonelake Capital Partners purchased the portfolio for an undisclosed price.
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Inlet Watch Development LLC has sold Storage at 7275 Carolina Beach Road, a 438-unit self-storage facility in Wilmington. The property comprises three buildings totaling 63,550 square feet on seven acres. The asset, which was built in 2018, is situated at 7275 Carolina Beach Road, 10 miles north of downtown Wilmington. Mike Mele and Luke Elliott of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction. Roswell, Ga.-based Reliant Real Estate Management LLC acquired the property for an undisclosed price.