BILLERICA, MASS. — Calare Properties has completed the sale of a laboratory space located at 749 Middlesex Road in Billerica. An undisclosed buyer purchased the property for $6.2 million. Calare Properties originally acquired the vacant 40,000-square-foot lab facility in 2013 for $3.3 million while concurrently leasing the entire property to RainDance Technologies, a biotechnology company.
CLIFTON, N.J. — Brooklyn-based Damascus Bakery has signed a 15-year lease for an industrial and warehouse facility located at 65 Industrial Street South in Clifton. Tulfra Real Estate and The Hampshire Cos. own the 204,000-square-foot building, which was formerly occupied by GlaxoSmithKline. The property recently underwent a $10 million upgrade and renovation after it was acquired by Tulfra and The Hampshire Cos. in 2015. A family-owned and operated bakery since 1930, Damascus Bakery is a large-scale baker of paninis, pitas, roll-ups and wraps. The bakery currently has operation facilities in Brooklyn, New York, and Newark, New Jersey. Mark Tannen of United Realty and Steven Fleissig of Greenberg Traurig LLP represented the tenant, while Chris Hile, Jenna Imperatore and Harold Imperatore of JLL, along with Mitchell Berkery of CSG Law, represented the landlord in the deal.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Duke Realty has unveiled plans to develop a 170,428-square-foot, build-to-suit warehouse for PODS Enterprises LLC at 7133 Municipal Drive in Orlando. PODS, a residential and commercial mover and portable storage container provider, will consolidate its operations from two other Orlando-area warehouses and expand by approximately 72,000 square feet. Alex Beacham of Cushman & Wakefield represented PODS in the transaction, and Tim Perry of Duke Realty represented the company internally. The new warehouse will be situated on a 12.5-acre site, roughly one mile from Interstate 4.
One might expect that the industrial real estate market is in rough shape in a state with a projected $1.7 billion state budget deficit, where the capital city (Hartford) has discussed bankruptcy, and where one of the most famous employers (General Electric) has moved out — not to mention the state’s high taxes and high wages. However, the industrial real estate market is one of the tightest I’ve seen in Connecticut in more than 31 years. Each region in the state is experiencing varied levels of success, but overall the industrial market is healthy, with dropping vacancy rates, increasing rental rates, and decreasing cap rates. The game changer is big box distribution and third-party logistics activity throughout the region. In a market where a 75,000-square-foot deal used to be major news, we have seen numerous leases and new construction deals over 200,000 square feet in the past two years. E-commerce activity includes Amazon (1.5 million square feet in Windsor), FedEx (550,000 square feet in Middletown), and UPS (239,000 square feet in Windsor). Other significant transactions include Trader Joe’s (750,000 square feet in Bloomfield), Mobis Parts America (291,000 square feet in South Windsor), Vistar NE (296,000 square feet in South Windsor), …
NEW YORK CITY — Knighthead Funding has closed a $15 million first mortgage acquisition loan for three industrial buildings in the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. The borrower was not disclosed. The property has an existing as of right to build a residential development containing approximately 103,500 square feet. The property was acquired for $28 million.
NORTH HAVEN, CONN. — O,R&L Commercial has arranged the sale of an industrial park located at 222 Universal Drive in North Haven. The 11-building park totals 133,283 square feet; each building is on separate utilities. Corporate Drive Properties acquired the park from Branco Inc. for $3.7 million. Frank Hird of O,R&L Commercial represented the seller, while Bryan Atherton of Northeast Investment Realty represented the buyer in the transaction.
HOUSTON — NAI Partners has arranged a 31,512-square-foot industrial lease at 5114 Railroad St. in Houston. John Ferruzzo and Chris Kugle of NAI represented the landlord, 5114 Railroad LLC, in the lease negotiations. Travis Secor and Ryan Fuselier of JLL represented the tenant, Vac-One Services LLC, a vacuum and hydro-excavation services company.
CARY, ILL. — Entre Commercial Realty LLC has arranged the sale of a 76,421-square-foot industrial building in Cary, about 40 miles northwest of Chicago. The sales price was not disclosed. The property is located at 680 Industrial Drive. Illinois Lift Equipment Inc., a national equipment dealer providing forklifts and scissor lifts, purchased the property from Midwest Industrial Funds (MIF). The industrial investment and development company sold the building after completing extensive upgrades, including the demolition of over 20,000 square feet of a two-story office space; demolition of over 20,000 square feet of warehouse mezzanines, modernization of the truck docks; roof repairs; upgraded lighting; landscaping; parking lot replacement; and façade remodeling. Dan Jones, Mike DeSerto and Cory Kay of Entre Commercial represented MIF in both the original acquisition of the property and this sale. Steve Morken of Morken Associates represented the buyer in the transaction. In addition, Entre Commercial arranged a 25,000-square-foot lease at the property for Witt Management Group, a third-party provider of warehousing, order fulfillment and distribution.
SAN ANTONIO — NAI Partners has brokered the sale of a 31,926-square-foot manufacturing facility located at 1930 Hormel Drive in San Antonio. Brett Lum and Clare Flesher, both of NAI, and Tak O’Haru of White Cube represented the buyer, Takumi Stamping Inc., an Ohio-based producer of automotive parts. Ty Bragg of Cavender Hill Properties represented the seller, Forumex LLC.
AUBURN HILLS, MICH. — NAI Farbman has negotiated the sale of a 19-acre industrial site in Auburn Hills. The sales price was not disclosed. Developer Cunningham-Limp purchased the property, located at Dutton and Bald Mountain roads. The site has the flexibility to house multiple buildings, ranging from 85,000 to 200,000 square feet, and is in close proximity to Fiat Chrysler Automotive headquarters, General Motors Lake Orion Assembly Plant and Oakland University. NAI Farbman will also serve as leasing agent for the property, which has the potential for 2017 occupancy.
