MORGAN HILL, CALIF. — Trammell Crow Co. and CBRE Global Investors have broken ground on Butterfield 5 Technology Park in Morgan Hill, approximately 70 miles southeast of San Francisco. Totaling 410,076 square feet, the park will feature five Class A industrial buildings on 24 acres at the intersection of Butterfield and Sutter boulevards. Completion is scheduled for first-quarter 2021. The buildings will range from 70,280 square feet to 91,738 square feet and are designed to accommodate tenants that require as little as 35,000 square feet of space. The buildings will feature prominent glass entries, extensive landscaping, clear heights ranging from 28 feet to 32 feet, and convenient access to Monterey Road and US 101. CBRE’s Rob Shannon, Chip Sutherland and Brian Matteoni is representing the project.
Nearly three full quarters into the COVID-19 pandemic, no real estate asset class in the Washington, D.C., metro area has shown less macro-level distress than the industrial market. In fact, the industrial market may have actually benefited from the pandemic. Despite the immediate drop in demand and activity that resulted in the second quarter, the metro industrial market has bounced back and posted positive gains in both leasing activity and new construction. No other asset class can claim that in the D.C. area. Much of the industrial activity is centered in Northern Virginia, but Suburban Maryland has remained healthy as well. At the end of the third quarter, the overall vacancy rate for warehouse/logistics space, flex and service center industrial buildings stood at 6.2 percent. Unlike many industrial markets, the Washington, D.C., MSA is a service economy with more than 260 million square feet of space. Early industrial development around the Capital Beltway/Interstate 495 served to support an ever-growing population base driven by the federal government and its contractors. This, however, has changed in the past decade, with high-tech companies entering and dominating the market. Fueling D.C.’s healthy market is its high barrier to entry. Much of the development that …
NEW YORK CITY — W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC) has acquired a 1.5 million-square-foot portfolio of net-leased properties for $149 million. The acquisition comprises three separate deals involving industrial and retail properties in various markets, including California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In the first deal, the New York City-based REIT acquired two cold storage production and distribution facilities in California’s Central Valley region. The tenant, a summer fruit grower, sold the properties to W.P. Carey for $75 million in a sale-leaseback transaction. The tenant signed a 25-year, triple-net lease with fixed annual rent increases. In the second transaction, W.P. Carey purchased seven auto dealerships totaling 170,000 square feet that were net leased to Auto Lenders, a retailer of used vehicles, for $55 million. Located in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the facilities comprise the entirety of Auto Lenders’ operating footprint, including dealerships, servicing centers and headquarters for each of its business segments. The seller was not disclosed. In the third deal, the firm acquired two industrial facilities totaling 296,300 square feet that were net leased to a global plastics distributor. The tenant, which has committed to a 20-year, triple-net lease with fixed annual rent increases, sold the properties to W.P. Carey …
SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY. — JLL Income Property Trust has acquired a 1 million-square-foot, Class A industrial property known as Louisville Distribution Center in Shepherdsville. Core5 Industrial Partners sold the property for $95 million. The tenant roster was not named. Built in 2020, Louisville Distribution Center is located at 170 Clermont Road, within 20 miles of major distribution hubs including UPS Worldport (Air Distribution Hub), UPS Centennial Hub (Ground Distribution Hub) and the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The property includes 40-foot clear heights, cross-docking, LED motion sensor lighting, 234 trailer parking spaces and HVAC throughout. Core5 Industrial Partners is an industrial developer based in Atlanta, and JLL Income Property Trust is a Chicago-based REIT.
FINDLAY, OHIO — Stan Johnson Co. has brokered the $11 million sale of a 180,000-square-foot distribution center in Findlay, about 40 miles south of Toledo. American Plastics, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of plastic-injection molded products, fully occupies the facility. Located on eight acres at 2040 Production Drive, the building is situated near I-75 in Hancock County. The facility has been renovated twice since it was originally constructed in 1992. Rob Gemerchak, Jeff Hughes and Jeff Tracy of Stan Johnson represented the seller, an Ohio-based developer. Gladstone Commercial, an institutional investor based in Virginia, was the buyer. The sales price represented a 5.5 percent increase over the asking price.
FAIRFIELD, N.J. — The Stro Companies, a New Jersey-based investment firm, has acquired a 77,000-square-foot industrial property in the Northern New Jersey city of Fairfield. The property is leased to pharmaceutical manufacturing company Maquet, and Stro intends to find a new life sciences tenant when Maquet’s lease expires at the end of this year. Howard Weinberg of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Prudential Bank provided acquisition financing to Stro Cos.
DORAL, FLA. — Terra and Terranova Corp. have sold a 23.7-acre site in Doral for $55 million, or $2.3 million per acre. The land houses PepsiCo’s former bottling plant, which spans 232,000 square feet. Terra and Terranova, two South Florida investment firms led by David Martin and Stephen Bittel, respectively, initially acquired the site for $40 million in January 2018 and subsequently leased the property back to PepsiCo through July 2020. The unnamed buyer shares a Santa Monica address with GLP Capital Partners (GCP), an investment firm that specializes in logistics properties. The former PepsiCo bottling plant is located at 7777 Northwest 41st St. and is situated less than two miles from Miami International Airport. The property is zoned for industrial development and can accommodate up to 500,000 square feet of commercial space. Terra is a Miami-based real estate development and investment company. Terranova Corp. is a South Florida commercial real estate investment firm.
EAST POINT, GA. — Duke Realty’s Atlanta office has acquired a larger space at Camp Creek Business Center in East Point and signed a lease extension and expansion with Ashley Furniture Industries LLC, a current tenant at the park. Ashley Furniture will be the sole occupant of the 336,960-square-foot facility located at 4505 N. Commerce Drive. Jeff Maris of Ashley Furniture explained why the furniture company decided to move. “Four years ago, we found the space at Camp Creek Business Center and our needs were met. In 2020, as we experienced increased demand and company growth, Duke Realty was able to help us find additional space very quickly and with limited disruption,” said Maris. Duke Realty’s Camp Creek development in East Point is 98 percent leased to tenants including FedEx, Amazon, Dick’s Sporting Goods and The Home Depot. Duke Realty is an industrial-only property REIT based in Indianapolis.
TULSA, OKLA. — Tulsa-based Stan Johnson Co. has brokered the $28 million sale-leaseback of a portfolio of eight industrial properties located throughout Texas and the Southeast. Brad Pepin and Jeff Tracy of Stan Johnson Co., along with Tom Gates and David Maynard of Mirador Real Estate Advisors, represented the undisclosed seller, which executed long-term, absolute triple-net leases at closing. The buyer was a New York-based institutional investor. The portfolio totals more than 200,000 square feet across 70.5 acres, including one newly built property that features a combination of industrial and office space and serves as the tenant’s headquarters.
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — Greenstone Partners has negotiated the sale of a 182,084-square-foot industrial building in Champaign for $8.2 million. The property is fully leased to Rockwell Automation, which plans to vacate upon the expiration of its short-term lease. The East Coast-based buyer plans to lease up the property within the next 12 to 18 months. The Class A building features a clear height of 32 feet and is located at 2802 Bloomington Road. Greenstone Partners represented the seller, a Chicago-based family office.