NEW YORK CITY — Venture Capital Properties has negotiated a 24,000-square-foot lease at a vacant parcel that formerly housed a warehouse at 5200 1st Ave. in Brooklyn. The tenant, valet parking service Park Pro Systems, will use the property to store its vehicles but will not develop any portion of the site. Jacob Stavsky of Venture Capital Properties represented both Park Pro Systems and landlord John Luhrs in the off-market deal.
Industrial
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — In Self Storage Management has acquired the former Toys R Us building located at 3730 N. Citadel Drive in Colorado Springs. Dunton Commercial of Colorado sold the asset for an undisclosed price. The buyer plans to retrofit the existing freestanding building into mini-storage and make way for a new In Self Storage facility. The 3.1-acre property is bordered by Galley Road, North Citadel Drive, North Academy Boulevard and Delaware Drive. Patrick Kerscher of CBRE represented the seller in the deal.
PHOENIX — Westcore has completed the disposition of West80, an industrial property located at 8001 W. Buckeye Road in southwest Phoenix. Affiliates of KKR acquired the asset for an undisclosed price. Totaling 380,000 square feet, West80 features an ESFR sprinkler system, 36-foor clear heights, cross-dock loading, an office suite and a fully secured property with drive-around capabilities. At the time of sale, the property was fully leased to ABB Inc., which signed a lease this spring to occupy the asset. The facility is near Phoenix’s main east-west transportation node, Interstate 10, as well as Loop 202. Will Strong, Greer Oliver, Mike Haenel and Andy Markham of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, while KKR was self-represented in the deal. Westcore originally purchased the property from a joint venture between Phoenix-based Wentworth Property Co. and a private real estate fund managed by Dallas-based Crow Holdings Capital when construction was completed in August 2019.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — VanTrust Real Estate has broken ground on a 1 million-square-foot speculative warehouse near the Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus. VanTrust will build the project on land that it acquired from K-Nova LLC earlier this year. The master-planned industrial park will be known as Rickenbacker Exchange at Commercial Point and encompasses more than 900 acres of shovel-ready logistics and manufacturing ground. VanTrust says it can accommodate an additional 1.2 million square feet of warehouse space at the site. Jack Tzagournis of Fortress Real Estate Cos. assisted K-Nova in the sale. Pepper Ohio, a subsidiary of Pepper Construction Group, will lead construction. RED Architecture designed the building. Michael Linder of Colliers International has been retained as listing agent.
VERNON HILLS, ILL. — Wool Finance Partners has arranged a $6.2 million loan for the construction of a 95,245-square-foot speculative industrial building at Corporate Woods Business Park in Vernon Hills. The borrower, Forest Edge TH LLC, will acquire and demolish a vacant 48,100-square-foot office building at the site. Martin Siegel of Wool arranged the loan with a Chicago-based bank. The three-year loan features a floating rate starting at 3.5 percent. The project is led by Cary Goldman of Timber Hill Group and Jim Woldenberg. Brett Kroner of Cushman & Wakefield will serve as leasing agent and Premier Design + Build Group is the general contractor. A timeline for construction was not disclosed.
FREDERICK, MD. — Matan Cos. has broken ground on the first two buildings of Center 85, a speculative, 556,800-square-foot industrial park in Frederick. The company has started on Buildings I and II, which will span 116,000 square feet and 64,000 square feet, respectively. The locally based developer expects to deliver the two buildings in July 2021 with tenant improvements slated to begin in May 2021. Matan will break ground on Building III dependent on leasing activity on the first two buildings. Matan is available to begin construction on the 276,000-square-foot asset and have the same timetable as the other two buildings. The buildings will feature 30-foot clear heights, a 120-foot truck court, 50-foot speed bay and two drive-in dock doors. Morgan Keller is the general contractor of Center 85, and Powers Brown in the architect.
WALTHAM, MASS. — Defense contractor Raytheon (NYSE: RTX) will cut approximately 15,000 jobs, primarily in its aviation departments, as a result of depressed demand for commercial air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to multiple reports. The Massachusetts-based firm, which employs about 200,000 people nationwide, made the announcement during an earnings call last week, according to reports from multiple new outlets including CNN and Forbes. The company’s stock price opened at $61.58 per share on Tuesday, Sept. 22, down from $84.59 per share a year ago.
HOUSTON — Safespill, a provider of fire protection services, has signed a full-building, 54,869-square-foot industrial lease at 1900 Crosspoint Ave. on the south side of Houston. According to LoopNet Inc., the freestanding building was built in 1981 and consists of 46,393 square feet of warehouse space and 8,476 square feet of office space. Carter Thurmond of Transwestern represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Robyn Berry and Janae Evans represented the landlord, Evtex Cos., on an internal basis
SAN ANTONIO — Hugh M. Cunningham Cos., a Dallas-based manufacturer and distributor of building supplies, has signed a 33,000-square-foot industrial lease at 4960 Eisenhauer Road in San Antonio. Josh Aguilar of CBRE represented the landlord, Prologis, in the lease negotiations. Trace Elrod of Newmark Knight Frank represented the tenant.
Ford Motor Co. Breaks Ground on Electric Vehicle Center for Production of F-150 Pickup Trucks
by Jeff Shaw
DEARBORN, MICH. — Ford Motor Co. has broken ground on an electric vehicle center at the historic Rouge Center in Dearborn where it will build the all-electric F-150 by mid-2022. Upon completion, the new 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at the Rouge Center will add 300 jobs and is part of a $700 million investment in building the all-new lineup of F-150 pickup trucks, including the first-ever F-150 PowerBoost hybrid. The new jobs will support battery assembly and production of the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid and fully electric F-150. Including investments for Bronco and Ranger at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., announced last year, Ford plans to invest more than $1.45 billion and create approximately 3,000 jobs over the next three years in Michigan alone. “We are proud to once again build and innovate for the future here at the Rouge with the debut of our all-new F-150 and the construction of a modern new manufacturing center to build the first-ever all-electric F-150,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor. Co., in a press release. “This year’s COVID-19 crisis made it clear why it is so important for companies like Ford to help keep our U.S. manufacturing base strong and …