HANAHAN S.C. — West-Signal, a joint venture between an affiliate of North Signal Capital LLC and a fund managed by Westport Capital Partners LLC, has broken ground on a 340,000-square-foot industrial facility within North Pointe Commerce Park in Hanahan, roughly 15 miles northwest of Charleston. The partnership is developing the warehouse and production facility for Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), a technology integrator in the engineering, technical and information technology markets. SAIC’s primary client is the U.S. federal government. The LEED-certified building will feature tilt-up concrete construction, 32-foot clear heights, an ESFR sprinkler system and LED lighting. The building will also have the capacity to expand an additional 74,000 square feet. Evans General Contractors will design and build the facility, and Bank of America is providing construction financing for the project. West-Signal expects to deliver the facility in the fourth quarter. The joint venture acquired three developable sites along North Pointe Industrial Boulevard — collectively referred to as North Pointe Commerce Park — in late 2017 and is developing each one. The project will ultimately add approximately 715,000 square feet of industrial space to the greater Charleston area. The first building within the park is slated for delivery in September. Peter Fennelly, …
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Rent the Runway, a New York City-based online clothing rental company, will open a 300,000-square-foot distribution center along West Bardin Road in Arlington, according to the City of Arlington. Development of the facility, which is slated to open at the end of the year, is expected to create an additional 600 construction jobs over the next 12 months. A general contractor has not yet been named to the project, which represents Rent the Runway’s second distribution center in the United States, the first being located in Secaucus, N.J.
MERIDEN AND CHESHIRE, CONN. — NKF Capital Markets has arranged the sale of a three-asset industrial portfolio in Meriden and Cheshire. A financial institution sold its 100 percent interest in the 788,000-square-foot portfolio to Sky Management Services for an undisclosed price. The portfolio includes a 241,000-square-foot facility located at 160 Corporate Court in Meriden that is fully occupied by Sports Direct; a 338,000-square-foot property located at 550 Research Parkway in Meriden that is leased by Medline Industries; and a four-building, 209,000-square-foot industrial complex located at 611-617 W. Johnson Ave. in Cheshire. Kevin Welsh, Brian Schulz and Jason Emrani of NKF Capital Markets, along with Matt O’Hare of CBRE, represented the seller in the deal. Additionally, Jordy Roeschlaub, Dustin Stolly and Robert Tonnessen of NKF Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance secured acquisition financing for the purchase.
HOUSTON — NAI Partners has negotiated an industrial lease at 8301 W. Monroe Road near William P. Hobby Airport in southeast Houston. The tenant, IPS Pump Services Inc., will occupy 22,719 square feet. Jake Wilkinson and Darren O’Conor of NAI Partners represented the landlord, Lawrence Investments LLC, in the lease negotiations.
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — A joint venture between Bixby Land Co. and institutional partner AXA Investment Managers has planned to acquire approximately $400 million of core industrial properties in the Western United States. Bixby contributed an initial portfolio of seed assets to the venture as the partners seek to expand the relationship through the pursuit of additional acquisition opportunities. Bixby Land Co. currently owns more than 6 million square feet of office and industrial space in the West. The new venture will pursue middle-market properties, preferably one-off assets, between 100,000 square feet and 400,000 square feet in markets from San Diego to Seattle and as far east as Dallas. HFF’s Kevin MacKenzie, Michael Joseph, Doug Bond, Tom Mizo and Ryan Megowan represented Bixby in the joint venture arrangement.
DENVER — Etkin Johnson Real Estate Partners has obtained a $75 million refinancing for the Colorado Technology Center (CTC) II Portfolio in Denver. The portfolio contains five properties inside the Colorado Technology Center, including 1900 Cherry St., 1960 Cherry St., 2000 Taylor Ave., 1900 Taylor Ave. and 633 CTC Blvd., totaling 535,787 square feet. A 109,386-square-foot, built-to-suit building at 2035 Taylor Ave. will be added to the loan once construction is completed this fall. HFF arranged the 10-year, fixed-rate loan with MetLife.
BARTLETT, ILL. — Ridge, the industrial arm of Transwestern Development Co., has completed construction of a 186,000-square-foot speculative industrial building within Brewster Creek Business Park. Located at 1365 Brewster Creek Blvd. in Bartlett, Ridge Brewster Creek II features a clear height of 32 feet, 35 loading docks, two drive-in doors and 212 car parking spaces. Darcie Fankhauser of Ridge led the project team, which also included Triumph Construction Services Corp., Harris Architects Inc. and Eriksson Engineering Associates Ltd. Brewster Creek Business Park is a 670-acre, mixed-use business park about 40 miles west of Chicago.
Everyone is familiar with the expression “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” However, what most people do not know is that the second half of that phrase is, “but they were laying bricks every hour.” Bricklayers in Nashville are busy people these days, accommodating the demand for new commercial development. That’s not just a metaphor for the developers of record — the utility contractors, dirt movers, pavers, framers and roofers are all busy trying to keep up with the constant stream of construction. With record levels of construction comes the high demand for a skilled workforce to complete the necessary work. We constantly hear that approximately 30,000 people are moving to Nashville per year. However, a large amount of this new workforce via this in-migration are millennials looking to work in the IT or healthcare fields rather than skilled labor. If you were to ask any “bricklayer” what concerns them the most, almost assuredly the recruitment and retention of qualified labor will be at the forefront of the conversation. With the younger generation less likely to enter the blue collar workforce, why in 2017 did we see 6 million square feet of industrial warehouse space delivered? Make no mistake, that …
HOUSTON — Moody Rambin has negotiated an 18,500-square-foot industrial lease at 10810 Train Court in northwest Houston. Josh Marcell and Ryan Fassett of Moody Rambin represented the tenant, Mayekawa USA Inc., a Tennessee-based manufacturer of refrigerator compressors, in the lease negotiations. The landlord, Clay-CMBS #2 LP, was represented internally by Charlie Crist.
LYON TOWNSHIP, MICH. — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has arranged a 126,194-square-foot industrial lease for Hydrofarm in Lyon Township, which is located in central northern Michigan. The property, situated at 30104 Research Drive, features a clear height of 28 feet. Constructed in 1999, the warehouse originally served as a build-to-suit for Keebler Cookie Co. Geoffrey Kasselman and Geoff Hill of NKF represented Hydrofarm, a wholesaler and manufacturer of hydroponics equipment and high-intensity grow lights, in the lease transaction. Jon Savoy of Lee & Associates represented the undisclosed landlord.