All of the property sectors in the Boston area are thriving, thanks to one of the strongest economies in the nation. As of April this year, the unemployment rate in Massachusetts was 4.7 percent and in Boston, it was 3.7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists generally consider employment to be essentially “full” when unemployment rates dip below 5 percent. By comparison, the unemployment rates in neighboring states were 6.3 percent for Connecticut, 3.8 percent for New Hampshire and 6.1 percent for Rhode Island. The U.S. unemployment rate in April was 5.4 percent. Boston’s overall industrial vacancy rate at the close of the second quarter was 8.1 percent, according to CoStar, and includes warehouse/distribution space, flex space and R&D facilities. It was the fourth consecutive quarter that the vacancy rate has remained in the low 8 percent range. Overall net absorption has been negative this year: -82,364 square feet in the second quarter and -41,089 square feet in the first quarter this year. This compares with positive net absorption of more than 3.1 million square feet in the third and fourth quarters of 2014. However, we believe that the first half of this year is a …
ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Norman S. Wright Climatec Equipment of Southern CA has purchased a 63,774-square-foot industrial asset in Anaheim for $10.8 million. The building is located at 3325 E. La Palma Ave. The seller is La Palma/Miller Owner LLC. Mitch Zehner and Seth Davenport of Voit’s Anaheim office executed the sale.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Ozburn-Hessey Logistics LLC has set up shop in the 100,500-square-foot Northpoint Trade Center Building II in Fort Worth, leasing the entire building for its sixth location in north Texas. Nick Talley of Dallas-based Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord, Exeter 700-751 Eight Twenty LP, in the transaction. Ozburn-Hessey, Northpoint’s new tenant at 731 Eight Twenty Blvd. in Fort Worth, has boosted occupancy to 94 percent in the 403,160-square-foot, four-building industrial project. The remaining vacancy totals 24,276 square feet. Developed in 1999, the project offers access to I-35 and Loop 820. Building II boasts 24-foot clear heights, 26 dock doors, a sprinkler system and 116 parking spaces on a 5.2-acre tract with 120-foot truck courts. Ann Huntington of CBRE represented Nashville-based Ozburn-Hessey in the lease transaction. The company maintains more than 36 million square feet of flexible warehouse space in at least 120 logistics centers worldwide.
FRANKLIN AND MONROE, N.J. — HFF has arranged $24.6 million in refinancing for a two-property industrial portfolio totaling 470,866 square feet in Franklin and Monroe. The borrowers are Matrix Development Group and a fund advised by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing. HFF secured a $17.3 million loan for 1 Heller Park Lane in Franklin and a $7.3 million loan for 20 S. Middlesex Ave. in Monroe through Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC. The 324,337-square-foot 1 Heller Park Lane property features a 296,337-square-foot warehouse building and a 28,000-square-foot truck terminal building. Renovated in 2015, the property is fully leased to Promotion in Motion Inc., a candy and fruit snack manufacturer. Completed in 1992, the 146,529-square-foot warehouse property at 20 S. Middlesex Ave. features 19,069 square feet of office space and is leased to three tenants. Thomas Didio and Jim Cadranell of HFF represented the borrower in the financing transaction.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Molto Properties and Verus Partners have broken ground on Phase II of a 1.2 million-square-foot industrial complex in Air Commerce Business Park in Louisville. Phase II will consist of a 645,840-square-foot cross-dock industrial facility featuring 36-foot clear heights, trailer parking and car parking. Molto Properties pre-leased 74 percent of Phase I to Hillsdale Furniture and is seeking to lease the balance of the 622,426-square-foot building. Doug Butcher and Kevin Grove of CBRE are handling leasing for Molto, Pepper Construction is the general contractor on the project and Verus Partners is the local development partner. Phase I is scheduled to be completed by year-end, and Phase II is set to be delivered by October 2016.
CONYERS, GA. — Atlanta-based Reliant Real Estate Partners has brokered the $9.9 million sale of Conyers Logistics Center, a 201,403-square foot distribution facility in Conyers. The property is located at 2107 Eastview Parkway. Conyers Logistics Center was 100 percent leased at the time of sale to Cellofoam North America and Pioneer Plastics. An affiliate of STAG Industrial Inc. purchased the distribution center from Kansas City-based Block Real Estate Funds. Bob Burdell and J.R. Wright of Reliant Real Estate Partners represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction.
SAN FRANCISCO — Chai LP has purchased a 34,400-square-foot industrial building in San Francisco for $14.2 million. The building is located at 2650 18th St. in the city’s Mission District. Weston Wear previously occupied the space, though Zesty just signed a new lease. Zesty is a catering company that delivers, sets up and serves restaurant-made meals to businesses throughout San Francisco. Weston Wear has relocated to 389 Oyster Point where it now occupies approximately 12,000 square feet. Jason James of TRI Commercial/CORFAC International represented Weston Wear, Zesty and the building’s seller in all transactions.
COLCHESTER, VT. — Doug Nedde of Nedde Real Estate, along with Tracy Cresta, has acquired a 62,000-square-foot office and warehouse facility located at 784 Hercules Drive in Colchester. The vacant building, which was the former Reinhart Food Service building, sold for an undisclosed price. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England has leased the office portion of the property, leaving 47,000 square feet of warehouse space available for lease. The name of the seller was not released.
WILMINGTON, MASS. — Integrated Builders has completed a 29,000-square-foot office and manufacturing build-out for Limbach Company LLC at 46 Jonspin Road in Wilmington. The project included the installation of new flooring, lighting and electrical fixtures, a state-of-the-art HVAC system, partitions and updated fire alarms. The updated facility provides specialized manufacturing space for the mechanical contracting firm. Spagnolo Gisness & Associates Inc. served as architect, while WB Engineers+Consultants provided engineering services for the project.
Louisville’s industrial market continues to impress as it has successfully navigated recessionary times to the now current brisk market with solid activity. Even within those leaner times of 2009 and 2010, Louisville grew its occupied footprint by approximately 1.6 million square feet with perhaps a recipe that includes its beneficial geographic location and infrastructure, diverse manufacturing and logistics economy buffeted by UPS Worldport and Supply Chain Logistics, and aggressive state incentives provided by Kentucky and adjacent neighbor Indiana. The I-65 corridor is currently, and has been, white hot over the last 15 years. Louisville, like many similarly sized cities with populations over 1 million, has developed to its outer edges and industrial development is now spilling into smaller adjacent communities such as Shepherdsvillle, Ky., and Jeffersonville, Ind., both of which no longer resemble their former industrial selves. National and international developers like Prologis, USAA, Dermody, Exeter, DCT, Pinchal and Welsh, along with local developers such as Main Street Realty, Capstone, America Place and Crossdock, have found these communities and the I-65 corridor not only ripe with opportunity, but flush with tenants. On the Louisville side of the Ohio River, current speculative construction along the corridor includes more than 1.4 million …