EAST ALTON, ILL. — Wieland, a supplier of copper and copper alloy solutions, has begun renovating and expanding its manufacturing facility in East Alton, located outside of St. Louis near the Illinois-Missouri border. The project is valued at $500 million. The initial phase of the modernization will increase the capacity and quality of copper production at the facility, which was originally constructed in 1916. The development team will revamp building foundations to support new equipment, and the site will be modified to support the use of an overhead crane for equipment setting. Wieland will also undertake upgrades to other facilities, including the furnace, re-cooling system, distribution switchgear, superstructure and controls/commissioning. Following completion of the project, the building structure will feature metal siding and roofing over heavy structural steel. “With copper having an integral role in the energy transition, this endeavor better positions Wieland as a provider of sustainable solutions for our customers’ ever-changing needs,” says Greg Keown, president of Wieland’s rolled products North America division. The project team includes general contractors Graycor Construction Co. and Helmkamp Construction Co., as well as design firms Vestal Corp. and Salas O’Brien. Completion is slated for mid-2028. — Taylor Williams
Industrial
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Newmark has brokered the sale of DFW Point35 — Building 1, a 267,280-square-foot industrial property in Fort Worth. Built in 2023, the rear-load building is part of a larger development and features 32-foot clear heights, 59 dock doors, two drive-in doors, 185-foot truck court depths and 75 trailer parking stalls. Dustin Volz, Stephen Bailey, Dom Espinosa, Zach Riebe, Chloie Mercer and Caroline Wilson of Newmark represented the seller, a partnership between Atlanta-based Stonemont Financial Group and Iron Point Partners, in the deal. The buyer was not disclosed. The building was fully leased to GITI Tire at the time of sale.
HOUSTON — Alterra IOS has acquired a 9.7-acre industrial outdoor storage facility (IOS) located at 9605 Galveston Road in southeast Houston. The property houses three buildings totaling 31,000 square feet that are currently vacant. According to Crexi, the buildings feature 18- to 21-foot clear heights, office and showroom space and four grade-level loading doors. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
HOUSTON — Locally based brokerage firm Finial Group has negotiated a 15,000-square-foot industrial lease in southeast Houston. The building at 11026 Bay Commerce Drive is located within Gulfpoint Business Park. William Alcorn and Jason Gibbons of Finial Group represented the undisclosed landlord in the lease negotiations. Jack Perelman of Mohr Partners represented the tenant, industrial supplies distributor Alliance SouthernCarlson.
CARNEYS POINT, N.J. — Atlanta-based developer Portman has completed Carney Commerce Center, a 587,000-square-foot industrial project in the Southern New Jersey community of Carneys Point. The site is located about 10 miles from the New Jersey-Delaware border and 30 miles from Philadelphia. The cross-dock facility features a clear height of 40 feet, 140 dock doors, 2,000 square feet of office space and parking for 318 cars and 244 trailers.
WEST ROCKHILL, PA. — JLL has arranged an undisclosed amount of construction financing and joint venture equity for a 330,000-square-foot industrial project in West Rockhill, located roughly midway between Philadelphia and Allentown. The building will be situated on a 29.6-acre site and feature 36-foot clear heights, 85 loading positions and parking for 280 cars and 76 trailers. Jon Mikula, John Plower, Ryan Cottone and Michael Lachs of JLL worked on behalf of the developer, J.G. Petrucci, to arrange the loan with Provident Bank and structure the joint venture with Boston-based Cabot Properties.
LINCOLN PARK, N.J. — CBRE has negotiated a 48,650-square-foot industrial lease renewal at 132 Beaverbrook Road in the Northern New Jersey community of Lincoln Park. The tenant is Richelieu American Ltd., a wholesale distributor of specialty hardware, accessories, supplies and tools. Kevin Dudley, Chad Hillyer, Nicholas Klacik and Kate Granahan of CBRE represented the landlord, Northbridge Partners, in the negotiations. The tenant representative was not disclosed.
DENVER — Malman Commercial Real Estate has arranged the sale of 11100 E. 51st Avenue in Denver. GS 51st LLC, a Colorado limited liability company, sold the property to Las Vegas Lucky Investment LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, for $10.7 million, or $178.51 per square foot. Pioneer Interests, a multi-state institutional cannabis operator, fully occupies the 59,940-square-foot industrial building. Situated on 1.5 acres, the building is zoned I-B and offers heavy power and ample parking. Jake Malman of Malman Commercial represented the seller, while Jun Zhou of Centaline Investment Inc. represented the buyer in the deal.
Industrial Investors Are More Selective in Wake of Rising Interest Rates, Say InterFace Panelists
by John Nelson
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Despite strong fundamentals and a plethora of buyers waiting to transact, the industrial sector is experiencing dwindling sales as the industry is still reeling from the impact of rising interest rates. The U.S. industrial sector recorded $82 billion in sales volume in 2023, a 46 percent year-over-year decline and the lowest sales volume in about six years, according to data from Matthews Real Estate Investment Services. Newmark tallies the first three months of the year totaling $16.9 billion in U.S. industrial sales volume, which would be the seventh consecutive quarter of annualized declines. Michael Brennan, co-founder, chairman and managing principal of Brennan Investment Group, said that the rising cost of debt inherently makes values a moving target even in a healthy sector like industrial real estate, especially with such a massive upswing in interest rates over a short time frame. “Interest rates are the No. 1 problem for real estate,” said Brennan. “Buyers and sellers can’t see eye to eye. And make no mistake, prices went down, though maybe not as much as we thought they would have.” The data backs Brennan up as the average price per square foot was recorded at $130 at the end …
PLANO, TEXAS — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of the Plano Industrial Portfolio, a collection of eight buildings totaling 846,261 square feet located on the northeastern outskirts of Dallas. The buildings range in size from 53,833 to 210,560 square feet. At the time of sale, the portfolio was 100 percent leased to 15 tenants with an average tenure of 10 years. Jim Carpenter, Jud Clements, Robby Rieke, Madeleine Supplee and Trevor Berry of Cushman & Wakefield represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was New York City-based investment firm DRA Advisors. The sales price was not disclosed.