Driven by strong leasing activity, the New Hampshire Seacoast industrial market now has a limited supply of available options. The overall Seacoast vacancy rate is currently 5.6 percent. Compare that to the end of 2010, when vacancy in the market hit 12.9 percent. Narrowing the focus to the Portsmouth industrial market (excluding the Pease Tradeport), the vacancy hit 8 percent in 2010 but it had dropped to 3 percent at the end of 2015 — and at the end of June 2016, the vacancy rate hovered at 2 percent. This significant drop in vacancy leaves users with less viable product to choose from and is pushing them away from the Interstate 95 corridor of Portsmouth and Seabrook. Industrial Users Turn to Ground-Up Development Users in Portsmouth and surrounding communities, unable to find existing buildings to meet their needs, have turned to ground-up development in areas outside of Portsmouth and further away from the Interstate 95 corridor. Two large industrial users, Rand Whitney and Stonewall Kitchen, broke ground on projects in 2015 and have recently moved into their new facilities. Rand Whitney, part of the Kraft Group, originally opened a corrugated cardboard sheet plant in Dover back in 1972. Over the …
GOODYEAR, ARIZ. — Huhtamaki North America has purchased a 750,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility at Cotton Lane Commerce Park in Goodyear. The Finland-based global food packaging specialist intends to invest about $100 million at the site to create a “21st-century work environment.” The facility will serve West Coast food service packaging and retail tableware markets. Construction will begin in the second quarter of 2017, with commercial production scheduled in late 2017. NGKF’s Jim Belcher and Robert Stephens represented Huhtamaki in the transaction.
WINDSOR, CONN. — Ezra Silva Lane LLC has purchased an industrial property at 60 Ezra Silva Lane in Windsor for $1.75 million. The 33,400-square-foot building at the property is currently occupied by Precision Finishing Services while All-Crate Inc. occupies the 30,000-square-foot rear building. Sentry Commercial represented the buyer and CB Richard Ellis/New England represented the seller, Clinton Street Associates, in this transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Simone Development Companies has added a 40,000-square-foot self-storage facility to its Hutchinson Metro Center in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. CubeSmart is managing the climate-controlled facility. The new facility at 1260 Waters Place offers a variety of storage unit sizes in a well-lit site with 24-hour video surveillance. Amenities include hand-carts and dollies, availability of packing supplies and boxes, and printing/copy/fax services. The facility also offers a complimentary truck and driver through A Super Move. Delivery services directly to storage units are available. The facility has bi-lingual managers, and offers insurance services and discounts for military personnel.
SAVANNAH, GA. — Duke Realty Corp. plans to develop a 1.4 million-square-foot, build-to-suit distribution center in Savannah for Floor & Décor, an Atlanta-based retailer that sells hard-surface flooring, countertops, sinks and related accessories. Duke Realty will build the property on 90 acres located within Morgan Business Center between I-16 and I-95. The facility will have truck and rail access to Port of Savannah. Bill Sparks of CBRE represented Floor & Decor in the 1.4 million-square-foot lease transaction, while Duke Realty was represented internally by Brian Sutton. Duke Realty worked with the Savannah Economic Development Authority on the transaction, which represents one of the area’s largest development projects. Duke Realty plans to break ground in November, with Floor & Décor relocating to the new facility in early 2018.
HOMESTEAD, FLA. — Meridian Design Build has begun construction on a 237,000-square-foot package sortation and distribution center in South Florida. The property will be located on a 40.5-acre lot at the intersection of S.W. 127th Avenue and S.W. 272nd Street in Homestead. The project will be developed by SunCap Property Group as a build-to-suit for an unnamed provider of global shipping and information services. The property will feature 63 loading docks, seven drive-in doors, a freestanding gateway building, 180 interior van loading positions, 431 parking spaces, a 125-stall trailer storage yard and 8,270 square feet of office space. The design team includes architect Ware Malcomb and civil engineer Langan.
In recent years, the fundamentals in Charlotte’s industrial real estate market have continued to improve. Overall, the market can be characterized by an increase in tenant activity and the emergence of new submarkets more active on the development front than in the past. Tenant growth can be attributed to organic growth from users expanding, velocity of new deals, as well as emerging submarkets within the market. Charlotte’s central location near the transportation arteries of I-77 and I-85 continues to make the city’s industrial space very attractive to logistics and distribution companies. Charlotte is growing by approximately 20,000 residents per year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The population growth, coupled with the trend of brick-and-mortar retailers transitioning portions of their business to e-commerce, makes for a positive outlook on Charlotte’s industrial fundamentals. The strongest tenant activity is in the 25,000- to 75,000-square-foot range, with tenants looking to upgrade the quality and functionality of their space. Beginning in fourth-quarter 2015 and continuing into first-quarter 2016, there was noticeable activity among tenants relocating from owner-occupied facilities to leased spaces. This trend has been driven by a limited supply of options for purchase, historically high construction prices and a steady economy. Furthermore, the …
ZIONSVILLE, IND. — Inland Private Capital Corp. (IPCC) has sold a FedEx Ground facility located at 10301 Bennett Parkway in Zionsville, a suburban town located approximately 17 miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis, for $37.1 million. Situated on two land parcels totaling more than 49 acres, the approximately 303,000-square-foot building solely serves as the FedEx distribution center. IPCC purchased the asset in September 2014, a few months after completion. IPCC sold the property on behalf of one of its 1031 investment programs through its subsidiary, which serves as asset manager.
HOUSTON — Waterman Steele Real Estate Advisors has secured a 22,500-square-foot warehouse lease for Premier Auto Transport at 2906 Holmes Road in southwest Houston. Waterman Steele’s Mike Easely represented the lessee, Aaron Myles of the Myles Group. Joel Michaels of NIA Partners represented the lessor, Michael Powers. Premier Auto Transport will take occupancy this month and plans to open an auto staging facility, combining four separate staging areas throughout Houston into one location.
NEW YORK CITY — KZA Realty Group recently brokered a three-year lease for a 20,000-square-foot warehouse on Manida Street in the Bronx that allows global delivery box service Marley Spoon to expand into a larger warehouse located in the Bronx. Marley Spoon is a European-based recipe kit delivery service start-up. The company launched its recipe box delivery service in Germany, expanding to the Netherlands and the U.K., and then launching in the United States in 2015 with funding from Kreos Capital, QD Ventures, Luxor Capital and Lakestar. Kathy Zamechansky of KZA Realty Group represented the company in leasing the new, larger warehouse facility after it outgrew its Long Island warehouse space.