LOUISVILLE, KY. — Stellar Snacks, a snack manufacturer based in Carson City, Nev., has officially opened its new $137 million pretzel bakery in west Louisville. The company held a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by various dignitaries, including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg. The new Stellar Snacks factory is located within an existing 434,000-square-foot industrial building at 1391 Dixie Highway. The factory will create 350 full-time jobs over the next 10 years, which makes it the largest economic development project in west Louisville over the past 20 years. Stellar Snacks currently operates its original 101,000-square-foot facility in Carson City, where it employs more than 170 people. The company was founded in 2019 by mother-daughter duo Elisabeth and Gina Galvin, making Stellar Snacks the first woman-owned pretzel manufacturer in the United States. The pretzel maker distributes products to more than 5,000 grocery and retail stores nationwide.
Industrial
Portman, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT Break Ground on 549,000 SF Industrial Park Near Charleston
by John Nelson
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — A partnership between Portman and CapitaLand Ascendas REIT has broken ground on Summerville Logistics Center, a two-building industrial campus located along U.S. Highway 78 in Summerville, a Charleston suburb within Dorchester County. The site will include two rear-load facilities — one 313,000 square feet and the second 236,000 square feet — with a shared truck court that will be constructed simultaneously. The park will be situated near I-26 and roughly 25 miles from the Port of Charleston. Truist Bank is providing an undisclosed amount of construction financing, and Lee & Associates will lead the leasing efforts for Summerville Logistics Center. The project team also includes general contractor Frampton Construction, civil engineer Seamon Whiteside and architect McMillan Pazdan Smith. Portman and CapitaLand Ascendas REIT plan to deliver Summerville Logistics Center by the end of 2025.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Adolfson & Peterson (AP) Construction has completed Mid Cities Logistics, a 908,300-square-foot industrial project in southeast Fort Worth. Designed by metro Dallas-based Alliance Architects, Mid Cities Logistics comprises five buildings on a 65-acre site at the intersection of Buttercup Lane and Boswell Drive. All five buildings can support storage, distribution and light manufacturing uses. Construction began in early 2023. An entity doing business as Mid Cities Logistics LLC owns the property.
PHILADELPHIA — JLL has brokered the sale of three self-storage facilities in the Philadelphia area. The facilities, which traded as part of a 468,266-square-foot portfolio deal that includes three other facilities in South Florida, are located at 1354 Hook Road in Sharon Hill, 3952 N. Providence Road in Newtown Square and 4440 E. Bristol Road in Trevose. A partnership between Metro Self Storage and Heitman sold the portfolio to Andover Properties, which will rebrand the facilities under its Storage King USA flag. Brian Somoza led the JLL team that brokered the deal.
LOS ANGELES AND MILPITAS, CALIF. — Gantry has secured $18.9 million in permanent loans for three self-storage facilities in California. The Saf Keep-branded properties offer a total of 2,654 units, with two facilities in Los Angeles and one in Milpitas. Tom Dao and Erinn Cooke of Gantry represented the borrower, a private real estate investor. The three 10-year loans were provided by one of Gantry’s correspondent life company lenders and feature 30-year amortization schedules. The loan terms were structured with exact nonrecourse provisions, generous prepayment windows, ease of execution and competitive rates.
BILLERICA, MASS. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $5.7 million sale of a 40,000-square-foot industrial flex building in Billerica, a northwestern suburb of Boston. The building sits on a 2.9-acre site at 4 Federal St. and was fully leased at the time of sale to Boston Semi Equipment. Harrison Klein, Luigi Lessa and Mattias Edenkrans of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction. Peter Kim of Berkshire Hathaway procured the buyer. Both parties requested anonymity. Miguel Encarnacion of NAI | Parsons Commercial Group was also involved in the transaction.
CAROL STREAM, ILL. — Development Solutions Inc. (DSI) has broken ground on a 200,000-square-foot warehouse expansion for Frain Industries at 245 E. North Ave. in the Chicago suburb of Carol Stream. The addition will connect to Frain’s existing 330,000-square-foot facility, resulting in a combined footprint of 530,000 square feet. Upon completion, Frain Industries will operate the largest privately owned facility in Carol Stream, second in size only to the local post office, according to DSI. Completion is slated for June 2025. Headquartered in Carol Stream, Frain works in the packaging and processing industries.
CHICAGO — DarwinPW Realty/CORFAC International has brokered the sale of a 9,600-square-foot flex building located at 2224 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago for an undisclosed price. The property is home to Rainbow Art Inc. and is currently zoned C2-2, which allows for a mixed-use development. The building is situated in the West Town neighborhood and features clear heights ranging from 12 to 16 feet, one drive-in door and two-story office space. Marc Hale and Ali Nix of DarwinPW Realty/CORFAC International brokered the sale. A residential developer purchased the asset.
Canadian Solar’s e-Storage to Develop $712M Battery Manufacturing Facility Near Louisville, Kentucky
SHELBYVILLE, KY. — Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing, a subsidiary of e-Storage, has announced plans to develop a $712 million project in Kentucky, establishing a 6-gigawatt hour battery cell, module and packaging manufacturing facility. Based in Canada, e-Storage is a subsidiary of Canadian Solar — a battery energy storage systems design, manufacturing and integration company. Upon completion, the development will comprise a 1 million-square-foot building located on Logistics Drive in Shelbyville, roughly 35 miles east of Louisville. Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing will produce self-contained energy storage systems at the facility that will be packaged into modular, containerized utility-scale batteries. “The new plant will allow us to provide our U.S. customers with cutting-edge, American-made battery energy storage products,” says Colin Parkin, president of e-Storage. According to a press release issued by the office of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, the project will create 1,572 permanent jobs and marks the third-largest project for job creation during Beshear’s administration, which began in 2019. In August, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved a 15-year incentive agreement with Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing to provide up to $35 million in tax incentives. The authority also approved the manufacturer for up to $5 million in tax incentives through the …
MIDLOTHIAN, TEXAS — Dallas-based developer KDC has delivered a 422,000-square-foot, build-to-suit distribution center for energy services provider Oncor in Midlothian, a southern suburb of Dallas. The site spans 60.7 acres, and the facility features a cross-dock configuration, 36-foot clear heights, interior offices, a break room and training rooms. Alliance Architects designed the project, and Peinado Construction served as the general contractor. Construction began in December 2023.