AURORA, ILL. — The Chicago office of Duke Realty Corp. is developing a 242,372-square-foot, build-to-suit corporate headquarters and warehouse for Shorr Packaging Corp, a distributor of packaging products, equipment and services. The new facility is being constructed on 13 acres in Butterfield Corporate Park, Duke Realty’s multi-building industrial campus located off I-88 in Aurora. Shorr Packaging will consolidate operations from a 120,000-square-foot building it owns in Meridian Business Park, a 34,000-square-foot space in the Meridian Business Park it leases from Duke Realty and 36,127 square feet it leases in another building in Aurora. Trevor Ragsdale of JLL represented Shorr Packaging. Susan Bergdoll of Duke Realty, along with Traci Payette, David Prell and John Suerth of CBRE, represented Duke Realty. Construction on Shorr Packaging’s new facility in Butterfield Corporate Park is slated to begin this summer with delivery in spring 2016.
HARLINGEN, TEXAS — The Harlingen Aerotropolis at Valley International Airport has been designated as a Certified Site by McCallum-Sweeney Consultants, a selection and economic development consulting firm. American Electric Power hired McCallum-Sweeny Consulting Services to help develop and manage the process. After the applicant completes certification requirements, McCallum-Sweeney certifies that the property is ready for development, enhancing the marketability of the site. Harlingen Aerotropolis at Valley International Airport (formerly Harlingen Industrial Airpark) includes 479.5 acres.
BURLINGTON, N.J. — NAI Mertz has brokered the sale of an industrial facility located at Six Campus Dr. in Burlington. The buyer is an investor focused on the acquisition and operation of single-tenant industrial properties. Generation Brands, a manufacturer and distributor of decorative and functional lighting and ceiling fan products, occupies the entire building. Situated on 60 acres, the property, which includes 250,000 square feet of expansion potential, features 32-foot clear ceiling heights, 61 loading docks, solar paneling and ESFR sprinkler systems. Scott Mertz of NAI Mertz was the sole broker in the transaction. The name of the seller and the acquisition price were not released.
AURORA, COLO. — Majestic Realty Co. has announced plans to build an additional 452,400-square-foot speculative industrial warehouse and distribution facility at its Majestic Commercenter in Aurora. The center is located at the intersection of I-70 and Tower Road. The Class A industrial property is scheduled for completion in November. Majestic notes favorable market conditions, historically low industrial vacancy rates and recent lease agreements motivated the company to move forward on a sister property to its most recent 500,000-square-foot Building #28. Majestic recently signed long-term lease agreements with Fresca Foods for 158,000 square feet and Niagara Bottling for 132,000 square feet at Building #28. The new building will be constructed and designed by Commerce Construction Co.
The New Jersey industrial market is experiencing a renaissance of sorts with robust leasing activity in both Northern and Central regions of the state, increasing asking rents and more than 4.5 million square feet of industrial space delivered in 2014. All of these factors point to an even stronger 2015 as developers take advantage of improving market conditions. As we continue to see users and investors competing for the same properties, which in turn creates bidding contests resulting in higher sale prices, we pause and ask, “Can users compete with investors in this environment? And furthermore, should they?” To answer these questions, we need to look back at how we arrived at the current conditions. Towards the fourth quarter of 2013, asking rents and vacancy rates seemed to reach equilibrium. For each quarter after, asking rents steadily increased and vacancy dropped as demand rose. In the fourth quarter of 2014, vacancy in Central New Jersey fell to 7.2 percent, and asking rents rose from $5.35 to $5.42 per square foot with increasing demand along the New Jersey Turnpike corridor. Throughout the year, positive absorption totaled more than 2 million square feet in this region, making it the sixth year in …
REDONDO BEACH, CALIF. – DHL has signed a six-year lease extension for 234,858 square feet of industrial space in Redondo Beach. The facility is located at 4000 Redondo Beach Ave. The logistics company uses the space as an air freight hub. The lease is valued at $11.9 million. DHL was represented by Todd Taugner, Frank Schulz and David Prior of the Klabin Company in this transaction.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — Entre Commercial Realty has arranged the $2.3 million sale of a 41,600-square-foot industrial facility in Elk Grove Village. Horizon Logistics Inc., which is doing business as Seko Logistics, acquired the property located at 801 Lunt Ave. The free standing, single-tenant building is in close proximity to I-90, I-355 and O’Hare International Airport. Jonathan Kohn and Ron Behm of Colliers International represented the seller, Prologis. Tom Boucher and Dan Jones of Entre Commercial Realty represented Horizon Logistics. Seko Logistics is a 39-year-old global firm that specializes in transportation, logistics, freight forwarding and warehousing.
BLUFFTON, IND. — Stan Johnson Co. has arranged the $20.5 million sale-leaseback of an industrial facility in Bluffton. The property, which is leased to Alexin LLC, is located at 1390 South Adams St. Ken Hedrick, Jerry Hopkins, D. Andrew Ragsdale and Scott Briggs of Stan Johnson Co. represented the seller and the buyer in the corporate sale-leaseback transaction. The 90,108-square-foot facility was built in 2009. The location currently serves as Alexin’s headquarters and aluminum casting facility.
DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. — Cosmo International Fragrance has selected Miller Construction Co. to fully renovate a 93,955-square-foot production, distribution and office facility in Deerfield Beach. The property is located at 1341 W. Newport Center Drive within the Newport Center business park. The renovation includes reconfiguring the manufacturing and warehouse space, expanding a concrete mezzanine, constructing a roof structure and installing interior air quality monitoring and exhaust systems. Miller Construction plans to complete the renovation in December, whereby Cosmo will transfer its South Florida production and office locations to the property. The project team includes FSMY Architects, KAMM Consulting and MUEngineers Inc.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Piedmont Properties/CORFAC International has arranged NoDa Brewing Co.’s 15-year lease at 2921 N. Tryon St. in Charlotte. In the fall, NoDa Brewing will occupy the 33,000-square-foot industrial building, which triples its current 11,000-square-foot footprint at 2229 N. Davidson St. The future facility will have office space, production space and a tap room that is open to the public. Frank McCleneghan of Piedmont Properties/CORFAC represented NoDa Brewing in the lease transaction. The landlord, Hop, Drop and Loco LLC, recently purchased the facility from Ray Roofing for approximately $1.4 million. The property was constructed in the 1920s as a vinegar manufacturing plant for Speas Vinegar. There are plans in place to designate the facility as an historic property.