Manufacturing was instrumental in driving the United States economy out of the recession. With Greenville-Spartanburg having a high ratio of manufacturing to warehouse space, the region’s industrial market has been ahead of the national market in terms of growth. Greenville-Spartanburg is first and foremost an industrial market with approximately 160 million square feet of manufacturing, warehouse and flex space. This is larger than the industrial markets in Columbia and Charleston combined. For five consecutive years vacancy has declined and absorption has been consistently positive. Vacancy currently sits at a record 7.3 percent and has been there for several quarters, not moving down further mostly due to lack of product. Annual net absorption topped 4.3 million square feet in 2012 and 2013, and dropped down to 2.5 million in 2014. Space that does not exist cannot be absorbed. Developers are aggressively responding to this lack of product with more than 3 million square feet of space expected to be built in 2015. Over 1.3 million square feet of that space is considered speculative, meaning construction started before occupancy was achieved. Both numbers represent the highest amounts of construction since CBRE began tracking the Greenville-Spartanburg industrial market in 2001. Absorption in 2015 …
HOUSTON — Andrew Peeples, Brett Butler and Jeff Jackson of Stan Johnson Co. (SJC) have brokered the sale of C&J Energy Services corporate headquarters in Houston. The campus consists of a 125,000-square-foot, three-story office building and a 96,149-square-foot industrial/lab building. Westchase Green LLC, a partnership entity formed by InSite Realty Partners LP, developed the build-to-suit headquarters on behalf of C&J Energy. The buyer was a private REIT out of New York. The properties were put under contract in July 2014 with the industrial/lab facility closing in October and the office headquarters closing in March 2015.
WOODBRIDGE, N.J. — A joint venture between Advance Realty and F. Greek Development has completed the construction of a refrigerated storage and distribution center in Woodbridge. Preferred Freezer Services, a worldwide operator of temperature-controlled warehouses, has leased the 190,000-square-foot built-to-suit facility. Located on 9.3 acres at 275 Blair Road, the facility is designed to accommodate temperatures of negative 10 degrees and features a 53-foot clearance height.
COTTAGE GROVE, MINN. — Hillcrest Development LLLP and The Opus Group will develop a 40-acre industrial business park in Cottage Grove. The property is located south of U.S. Highway 61 at the northwest corner of Hemingway Avenue South and 91st St. South adjacent to Hamlet Park. Plans for the site include a variety of development scenarios ranging from 425,000 to 550,000 square feet of rail-served industrial space with the ability to support a 38-foot ceiling height and outside storage. Canadian Pacific will provide rail service to the site.
SAN DIEGO – An 18,314-square-foot industrial building in the San Diego submarket of San Marcos has sold to Utah Prime Properties for $2.1 million. The building is located at 1585 Creek Street. The tenant, ESN Restoration, has four years remaining on its lease. Utah Prime was represented by Rusty Williams, Chris Roth and Kyle Carruthers of Lee & Associates – North San Diego County. The seller, Edward Allen Properties, was represented by Kidder Matthews.
FORT WORTH — Transwestern’s Fort Worth office has arranged the sale of Riverbend Center on behalf of Klabzuba Realty LLC. Riverbend Complex LLC purchased the industrial/flex property located at 2301 – 2435 Gravel Drive and 7401 – 7445 Pebble Drive in Fort Worth for an undisclosed price. Steve Rowland, Jeff Givens and Tracy Georges of Transwestern represented the seller, Klabzuba. The 188,355-square-foot, four-building property was 90 percent leased at the time of sale. Riverbend Center includes 5,000 square feet of excess land for potential additional parking. Todd Lambeth of Colliers International represented Riverbend Complex in the transaction.
For years the Omaha industrial market — approximately 68 million square feet strong — seemed to be slow and steady. When the market tightened, developers were still able to meet demand. Over the past 15 years, companies looking to construct new facilities have historically had an ample number of options in which to relocate along I-80 in the southwest part of the metro area. The Great Recession of the late 2000s seemingly halted speculative construction. During the rebound of the early 2010s, the vacancy rate began to steadily decline. Tenants started to absorb excess space at a healthy clip. All of a sudden, the market has begun to face two overwhelming challenges: virtually full occupancy among rental space and few readily available land options to build new product. Space Users Stay Active Industrial vacancy in Omaha has continued to plummet, ending 2014 at a 3 percent vacancy rate. Both large national companies and local businesses have accounted for the healthy absorption of space. Sergeant’s Pet Care Products (which built 349,680 square feet), Airlite Plastics (71,272 square feet), and Election Systems & Software (40,000 square feet) all increased their footprint in 2014. Additionally, several smaller transactions have occurred this year. Companies …
TWINSBURG, OHIO — Meridian Design Build has begun construction on a new 207,360-square-foot, speculative industrial building in Twinsburg. Scannell Properties is the developer for the project. The multi-tenant facility is located on a 14-acre site within Cornerstone Business Park. The new spec building will include 171 auto parking stalls, five tenant entrances and 26 loading docks. The building is scheduled for completion in late summer. Precept Design LLC is providing architectural services for the project. Weber Engineering Services is completing civil engineering work.
ONTARIO, CALIF. – Wohl Investment Company has acquired Airport Wineville Business Park, a 53,937-square-foot, mixed use industrial center in Ontario, for $4.5 million. The four-building park is located at 5140 E. Airport Drive and 151,181 and 201 S. Wineville Ave. Wohl was represented by Patrick Barnes of Colliers International. The seller was McLellan Estate Co.
GARDENA, CALIF. – Sator Sports has acquired a 19,650-square-foot industrial building in Gardena for $2.4 million. The building is located at 1455 W. 139th Street. The soccer equipment company will be relocating its headquarters from nearby 1536 228th Street. It should occupy its new space by mid-April. The new building will allow the company to expand. Sator Sports was represented by Matt Stringfellow and Courtney Bell of the Klabin Company/CORFAC International. The seller Major Fulfillment Inc., was represented by David Denitz of Gateway Business Properties.