TOPEKA, KAN. — Simmons Pet Foods has signed a 42,960-square-foot industrial lease in the Forbes Industrial Park in Topeka. The building is located at 7215 SW Topeka Blvd. Jerry Fogel of Kessinger/Hunter negotiated the lease transaction. The Arkansas-based pet food manufacturer also maintains an operations plant in Emporia, Kan.
SWEDESBORO, N.J. — NAI Mertz has secured a sale-leaseback transaction at 509 Heron Drive, a 55,000-square-foot industrial building in Swedesboro. A subsidiary of Burton Real Estate purchased the building. NAI Mertz’s Jonathan Klear and Fred Meyer were the sole brokers in the transaction. Located within Pureland Industrial Complex, 509 Heron Drive features a crane-served warehouse and an existing two-story office, as well as a computer room, and reception and kitchen areas. Situated on a 14.7-acre lot, the building features two drive-in doors, five loading docks and one drive-thru service bay. The warehouse includes 22-foot clear ceiling heights and 40-foot by 40-foot column spacing. The warehouse area also includes five cranes. Offering access to Exit 10 of I-295, Pureland Industrial Complex is home to tenants such as Amazon, Home Depot and Mitsubishi.
EATONTOWN, N.J. — Ray Smith of Stafford Smith Realty has arranged the $5.5 million sale of 40 Christopher Way, Block 3901, Lot 46 in Eatontown to Victory International. The building formerly served as the headquarters of DSCI, a government defense contractor. Victory International is a distributor of cosmetics and perfumes and is relocating from Edison, N.J. Stafford Smith Realty was the broker for both the seller and the buyer. Stafford Smith marketed the property with Keen Associates for Bank of America. The building sits on seven acres and consists of 45,000 square feet of offices and 30,000 square feet of warehouse space.
NEW YORK CITY — On behalf of Li & Associates Development, Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of a 16,500-buildable-square-foot development site at 296-300 St. Nicholas Ave. in Bushwick, Brooklyn to 300 St. Nicholas LLC. The all-cash transaction was valued at $4.5 million or approximately $273 per buildable square foot.
ALLENTOWN, PA. — Ridgeline Property Group (RPG) will redevelop a former Kraft facility site located at 7352 Industrial Boulevard into a Class A rail-accessible logistics campus. RPG has acquired the 92-acre site and will build two distribution facilities totaling up to 1.5 million square feet. The project, known as Park 100 Logistics Center, will be located approximately one mile from the Route 100/I-78 Interchange. Demolition of the Kraft facility has commenced. The initial phase of Park 100 Logistics Center, a 730,080-square-foot distribution facility, is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2018. Jake Terkanian, Joe McDermott and Vincent Ranalli of CBRE’s Philadelphia office will market the property. Park 100 Logistics Center will feature 36-foot clear heights, a cross-docked loading configuration, four drive-in doors per building, 56-foot by 50-foot column spacing, 70-foot speed bays, early suppression fast response (ESFR) fire sprinklers, parking for 982 cars/light trucks and 376 trailer storage stalls.
BIRMINGHAM AND HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Birmingham-based GCP has closed four separate lease deals totaling 833,927 square feet with automotive suppliers in Birmingham and Huntsville. The landlord has signed Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc. to a 225,496-square-foot lease for parts storage at Shelby Commerce Park, a 1.5 million-square-foot industrial park in Birmingham’s Shelby County submarket. The lease brings the project to full occupancy. Two of Mercedes-Benz’s vendor companies, Antolin Alabama Inc. and Neovia Logistics Services LLC, signed leases at GCP-Gazelle II within Jefferson Metropolitan Park in Birmingham’s I-20/59 West industrial submarket. Antolin Alabama signed for 240,240 square feet and expects to start operations at GCP-Gazelle II in late 2017, and Neovia Logistics Services renewed its 160,160-square-foot lease at the facility. In Huntsville, Navistar Inc. has renewed its 208,031-square-foot lease at GCP’s Airport Distribution Center.
ATLANTA — Ackerman & Co. has purchased a three-building industrial portfolio within Westgate Business Park in Atlanta from Clarion Partners LLC for $7.6 million. The 274,791-square-foot portfolio is situated at 5215, 5245 and 5260 Westgate Drive in Atlanta’s I-20 West industrial submarket. The three front-load, shallow-bay facilities were fully leased at the time of sale. Stewart Calhoun and Casey Masters of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the transaction. The all-equity transaction was sourced through a partnership with a European private equity group. Ackerman & Co.’s in-house team will provide leasing and management services for the portfolio. The company is also currently developing a 1 million-square-foot bulk distribution center in Atlanta’s I-85 Northeast industrial submarket in Braselton, Ga.
MINOOKA, ILL. — Molto Properties has acquired a 79-acre land site in Minooka, about 28 miles south of Naperville. The site is situated along the I-80 corridor at McLindon Road. Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Molto Properties plans to develop a 1.3 million-square-foot industrial building at the site. Jim Estus of Colliers International represented Molto Properties in the transaction, while Lynn Reich of Colliers International represented the undisclosed seller.
NORTH RIDGEVILLE, OHIO — SkyView Advisors has arranged the sale of Fields Store-All in North Ridgeville, about 20 miles south of Dayton. The 122,239-square-foot self-storage facility sits on approximately eight acres. Valley Storage purchased the property from Fields Store-All LTD. Built between 1979 and 1997, the facility consists of 261 non-climate controlled units. The units range in size from 45 square feet to 1,200 square feet. Ryan Clark of SkyView Advisors represented the seller in the transaction.
Philadelphia is well positioned in the Northeast to flourish in the industrial sector in 2017. With a centralized position in the Boston-New York-Washington, D.C. corridor, Philadelphia has capitalized on its superb location to firmly establish itself as a distribution hub leading to sustained positive momentum in all key market sectors. The e-commerce market has been experiencing significant growth and the demand for near immediacy in delivery has been the driving force behind the strong performance of the industrial sector nationwide over the past few years, especially in the Northeast. In 2016, the industrial sector in greater Philadelphia had a banner year for absorption with a net positive of 9.27 million square feet absorbed. That represents the largest growth in occupancy since the onset of the Great Recession and places Philadelphia among the top performing markets in the U.S. for net absorption in 2016. Vacancy rates for the region have fallen to 6.9 percent — the lowest they’ve been since 2008. Asking rental rates rose steadily throughout 2016 and stood at $4.77 per square foot at year-end – the highest they’ve been since 2008. Following a record year for industrial sales in 2015, sales volume remained strong in the greater Philadelphia …