The commercial real estate market in the Greater Boston area continued its torrid pace in the first half of 2017. All sections of the commercial real estate market inside Route 128 are white hot, especially after the announcement that General Electric will move its corporate headquarters to the Seaport District. Recent data indicates that Boston has one of the hottest economies in the United States and ranks as one of the top economies in the world. The 2017 Investment Intensity Index ranks Boston as the fourth market in the U.S. and 14th in the world for commercial real estate investment. In the industrial sector, which includes warehouse/distribution and flex/R&D product, vacancies are at the lowest point seen in decades. At the end of the first quarter the vacancy rate decreased to 5.7 percent. Net absorption totaled 2.24 million square feet for the quarter. The fact that the urban industrial market is continually shrinking as aging industrial properties are redeveloped into “higher and better uses” has caused a tremendous displacement of companies from inside Route 128 to areas outside the coveted Route 95 corridor. A dearth of available institutional-quality industrial product exists in today’s market with just over 13 percent of …
RENO, NEV. — LBA Realty has acquired a Class A manufacturing and distribution center in Reno for $29.5 million. The facility is located at 9460 N. Virginia St. The seller was CP Logistics NVCC Building A2 LLC, a joint venture between CalSTRS, California State Teachers’ Retirement System and Panattoni Development Co. The asset serves as the headquarters for Mary’s Gone Crackers. The property is part of the North Valleys Commerce Center’s 1.48 million-square-foot Phase I. The land was originally sold to CP Logistics, which leased the facility to tenants like Microflex, Trademark Global and Exxel Outdoors. Mike Nevis, Dave Simonsen and Michael Hoeck of Kidder Mathews, in conjunction with JLL Capital Markets, represented the seller in this transaction.
HUTTO, TEXAS — Titan Development has broken ground on Innovation Business Park, a 72-acre industrial development that will be located in Hutto, a northern suburb of Austin. Phase I of the project will deliver a facility measuring approximately 150,000 square feet, which will have the capacity to house one to four tenants. The project will feature more than 1 million square feet of rentable space at full build-out. Titan will invest about $100 million in the development of the park, according to Community Impact Newspaper.
MINNEAPOLIS — CBRE has arranged the sale of a 1.2 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in the Twin Cities metro area for $70.6 million. The portfolio, which features 14 buildings across seven properties, includes: Corporate Square in Eagan; Eagan Industrial Warehouse in Eagan; Braemar Business Center in Bloomington; Northpoint Industrial Center in Fridley; France Avenue Business Park in Brooklyn Center; Round Lake Business Center in Arden Hills; and Burnsville Business Center in Burnsville. The portfolio was 81 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Ameriprise Inc., Staples, Supply Technologies LLC and Galil Medical Inc. Ryan Watts, Judd Welliver, Sonja Dusil and Tom Holtz of CBRE marketed the portfolio for sale on behalf of Artis REIT. Capital Partners LLP purchased the portfolio in a joint venture with PCCP LLC.
NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY — HFF has arranged 16 financings totaling $663 million secured by 15 retail properties and one industrial property totaling 4.6 million square feet in New York and New Jersey. Scott Aiese, Jon Mikula and Mike Tepedino of HFF secured the 16 separate loans with two CMBS lenders, three life company lenders and one bank for the borrower, Urban Edge Properties. The loans include 14 fixed- and two floating-rate facilities with terms ranging from seven to 13 years. Loan proceeds will be used to pay off existing CMBS debt and create additional proceeds, while staggering and lengthening the duration of the borrower’s maturity schedule. The portfolio comprises 98.1-percent-leased retail centers anchored by grocery stores, including ShopRite, Stop & Shop and Aldi; The Home Depot; Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse; Costco; BJ’s Wholesale Club and Walmart; and one multi-tenant warehouse property in East Hanover, N.J. The 16 properties are in dense submarkets with affluent demographics, including 15 located in New Jersey and one in New York.
CANTON, MASS. — Calare Properties has purchased an industrial property, located at 15-21 University Road in Canton, for an undisclosed price in an off-market transaction. Situated on 17 acres, the 103,200-square-foot property was vacant at the time of sale. The property features 14 loading docks, six drive-in docks, more than 300 parking spaces and flexible floor plans. The name of the seller was not released.
BOLINGBROOK, ILL. — Windy City Wire Cable and Technology Products LLC has signed an industrial lease renewal and expansion in Bolingbrook, a southwest suburb of Chicago. The cable management company now occupies the entire 247,500-square-foot facility, which is located at 386 Internationale Drive. The property features 30-foot clear heights, 42 exterior docks and nine drive-in doors. Kevin Mackey of TIG represented Windy City Wire in the transaction. ML Realty Partners is the property landlord.
CARLSBAD, CALIF. — Berdan Holdings has purchased a 109,807-square-foot FedEx shipping facility in Carlsbad for $24.5 million. The facility is located at 2495 Faraday Ave. The property was built in 1999. It is fully leased to FedEx on a net lease basis. Property features include 32-foot clear height, 10,900 square feet of office space, nine dock and nine grade-level doors. Ron Jacobson of SD Realty Partners represented Berdan Holdings, while Aric Starck of Cushman & Wakefield’s San Diego office represented the seller, Leonard Living Trust, in this transaction.
GOODYEAR, ARIZ. — Lincoln Property Co. has announced plans to break ground on Lincoln Logistics 40, a 901,700-square-foot spec industrial development in Goodyear, in December. The development will be the area’s first speculative industrial project to offer a 40’ clear ceiling heights. The project will be situated along Interstate 10 at Bullard Avenue on 50 acres within the Airport Gateway at Goodyear business park. Lincoln Logistics 40 will feature 169 dock and grade-level doors, 185 trailer storage stalls, up to 660 parking stalls, fiber optic data and energy-efficient clearstory windows in lieu of skylights. Completion is slated for mid-2018. Layton Construction will build the project. The architect is Butler Design Group. CBRE’s Pat Feeney, Dan Calihan and Rusty Kennedy represented the land seller, EJM Development Co. The firm’s John Werstler and Cooper Fratt represented Lincoln Property in the land purchase. Werstler, Kennedy and Fratt serve as the Lincoln Logistics 40 exclusive leasing team.
NASHUA, N.H. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of a flex building located at 472 Amherst St. in Nashua. BSP Cotton Road LLC, an entity related to Brady Sullivan Properties, sold the property to Pinnacle Properties for $6.6 million. Situated on 7.7 acres, the two-building property totals 98,595 square feet and is leased to multiple tenants. Tom Farrelly, Sue Ann Johnson and Denis Dances of Cushman & Wakefield, in collaboration with Charles Panasis, Ben Kelley and James Tobin of Brady Sullivan Properties, represented the seller in the deal.