HODGKINS, ILL. — Brown Commercial Group has negotiated two new leases totaling 131,605 square feet at 7335 Santa Fe Drive in Hodgkins, a southwest suburb of Chicago. Pioneer Service Inc. leased 61,355 square feet and M&M Quality Grinding Inc. leased 70,250 square feet. The distribution building is being renovated into a fully operational manufacturing facility with individual spaces for the two businesses. Completion is slated for mid-2023. Mike Antonelli of Brown Commercial Group represented the tenants. Adam Stokes of NAI Hiffman represented the landlord, UBS Realty Investors. Pioneer Service manufactures precision machining parts, while M&M produces metal bar stock.
Industrial
DECATUR, ALA. — First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) has announced plans to develop a $1.1 billion solar module manufacturing facility within Mallard Fox Industrial Park in Decatur, located near the Tennessee River southwest of Huntsville. The factory will contribute 3.5 gigawatts (GWDC) of renewable power each year and create over 700 new jobs for the state of Alabama upon its completion in 2025, according to the developer. First Solar hopes to expand its American manufacturing footprint to over 10 GWDC and a total investment of $4 billion in the coming years. The company currently has two factories operating in the state of Ohio with a third scheduled for completion during the first half of 2023, and several research and development (R&D) centers in California and Ohio. First Solar recently said it would expand its operations in the United States following passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides tax credits for domestically produced clean energy equipment. “The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has firmly placed America on the path to a sustainable energy future,” says Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar. “Our Alabama facility, along with its sister factories in Ohio, will form part of the …
By David Hodge, NAI Greywolf The demand for commercial industrial real estate was exceedingly strong in the Milwaukee market leading up to the onset of COVID-19. The economy and labor markets were also strong and incentives for onshoring spurred on this growth. Post-pandemic commercial industrial product continues its upward trend. The catalyst for this, however, is international supply chain disruptions. The reaction to this unfortunate circumstance is the accumulation of higher inventories of raw material and finished goods. The resulting impact is high demand, especially for warehouses, in an extremely low vacancy rate environment. Demand beating inventory According to Catylist, in the second quarter of 2022, the Milwaukee market’s vacancy rates were 3.3 percent for all commercial industrial products. This is largely due to the continued lack of available inventory. High demand in part has spurred increases in rental rates to approximately $5.98 per square foot triple net. While this is good news for landlords who look to capitalize, it presents challenges for tenants who are expanding their operations. The other factor driving rental rates is the rapid increase in interest rates. The upcoming election may also affect the rates in the later part of the fourth quarter of …
ST. PETERS, MO. — Reaction Auto Parts Inc. has signed a 265,393-square-foot industrial lease at Premier 370 Business Park in St. Peters, a western suburb of St. Louis. The company will occupy space at the final building within the industrial park, which is slated for completion before the end of the year and will span 366,916 square feet. To date, the development is home to 4.2 million square feet and tenants such as Reckitt Benckiser, Best Buy, Grove Collaborative and Amazon. In 2021, Panattoni Development purchased the last two lots available from Duke Realty and developed a 423,000-square-foot building earlier this year as well as the final building. Geoff Orf and Chad Burkemper of Colliers and Matt Hrubes of CBRE represented Panattoni.
SJP Properties, Manulife Begin Construction on Phase I of 6.5 MSF Industrial Park in Savannah
by John Nelson
SAVANNAH, GA. — SJP Properties and Manulife Investment Management have begun construction on the first phase of Georgia International Commerce Centre (GICC), an 809-acre industrial park in Savannah. At full buildout, GICC will comprise 12 buildings spanning 6.5 million square feet. SJP is partnering with Manulife on the first facility and with Chesterfield and Atalaya Capital Management on the overall development. Plans for GICC call for 250,000- to 1.3 million-square-foot buildings, each with cross-dock, front-load or rear-load configurations. The first building, which will span 1 million square feet, will feature 40-foot clear heights, 228 dock doors, four drive-in ramps, 273 trailer parking spots, a 185-foot-deep truck court and car parking for roughly 190 employees. The building is set to be delivered in July 2023 and is available for lease. Stephen Ezelle of Gilbert & Ezelle Inc., a regional non-owned affiliate of Cushman & Wakefield, is serving as the exclusive leasing agent for GICC. The park is situated within three miles of I-16, 22 miles from the Port of Savannah and near the recently announced, 16 million-square-foot Hyundai manufacturing facility.
HURST, TEXAS — Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services has negotiated a 12,000-square-foot industrial flex lease at 10728 S. Pipeline Road in Hurst. According to LoopNet Inc., the property was built on 1.3 acres in 1964. Jason Finch and Michael Spain of Bradford represented the landlord, an entity doing business as Euless Industrial LLC, in the lease negotiations. The representative of the tenant, Mid-Cities Classics Inc., a provider of automotive repair and restoration services, was not disclosed.
NORTH BILLERICA, MASS. — RAM Cos. has acquired a 92,000-square-foot warehouse in North Billerica, located north of Boston, via a $14.5 million sale-leaseback with Boston-based information management services firm Iron Mountain. Built in 1985, the property features clear heights ranging from 28 to 45 feet and 10 loading docks. Michael Restivo and Lenny Pierce of JLL represented Iron Mountain in the deal. Mark Campbell internally represented RAM Cos., which plans to implement a value-add program.
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — JJ&W has purchased Montague Crossing, an office and R&D asset in San Jose. Four Corners Properties and Rockwood Capital sold the property for $94.7 million in an off-market transaction. Scott Prosser, Joe Moriarty and Jack DePuy of CBRE Capital Markets represented the buyer in the deal. Situated on a 12.4-acre campus, Montague Crossing features 209,425 square feet of space spread across three buildings at 2520 and 2540-2560 Junction Ave. and 541-555 E. Trimble Road. At the time of sale, the campus was fully leased to three R&D tenants in the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing sectors.
IndiCap, AECOM-Canyon Partners Break Ground on 1.6 MSF Eastmark Center Industrial Park in Mesa, Arizona
by Amy Works
MESA, ARIZ. — IndiCap and AECOM-Canyon Partners have broken ground on Eastmark Center of Industry, a 113-acre industrial park in Mesa’s Gateway Airport submarket. Upon completion, the park will total 10 buildings offering more than 1.6 million square feet of mid-bay and cross-dock Class A industrial space. Situated in the Elliot Road Technology corridor, Eastmark Center of Industry will offer buildings ranging from 83,200 square feet to 426,400 square feet with 30-foot to 36-foot clear heights and 160-foot to 500-foot building depths. Future phases may include the opportunity for build-to-suit facilities. The project team includes Layton as general contractor, Kimley Horn as civil engineer and Deutsch Architecture as architect. IndiCap acquired the project site in April 2022 for $48 million. Steve Larsen, Pat Harlan and Jason Moore of JLL are handling leasing for the project.
Duncan Brokers Sale of Historic Distillery Commons Complex in Louisville, Buyer Plans $75M Adaptive Reuse Project
by John Nelson
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Duncan Commercial Real Estate (DCRE)/CORFAC International has brokered the sale of Distillery Commons, a historic distillery complex located at Lexington and Payne streets in Louisville’s Irish Hill neighborhood. The buyer, St. Louis-based Bamboo Acquisitions LLC, an affiliate of Intelica Commercial Real Estate, plans to redevelop the red-brick complex into a mixed-use project housing residences, offices, shops and restaurants. Barrel House Investments sold Distillery Commons to Bamboo for an undisclosed price. In 2019, the seller purchased the complex from Kinetic Properties, which had owned the site since the mid-1970s. The Courier-Journal reports that Distillery Commons operated as a bourbon warehouse that was constructed in the 1890s and that the proposed mixed-use development carries a price tag of $75 million. The City of Louisville recently condemned the rickhouse (Building 100 of the property), which was demolished last month.