At the mid-year mark, industrial occupancy in the greater Richmond area remains strong, closing with an overall occupancy rate of 92 percent in the categories being tracked (Classes A and B, as well as select Class C vacant and investor-owned product with a minimum of 40,000 square feet). Class A occupancy decreased slightly to 95 percent at the end of the second quarter, down 100 basis points from 96 percent at the end of the first quarter. The largest addition to the vacant Class A inventory is a 226,000-square-foot former GSA facility in Chesterfield County. Class B occupancy experienced an increase to 92 percent, up from 90 percent at the end of the first quarter. CoStar Group reports overall industrial occupancy at 95 percent for product of all sizes, including investor-owned facilities but excluding flex space (minimum 50 percent office). Richmond’s strategic Mid-Atlantic location along Interstate 95 provides access to 55 percent of the nation’s consumers within two days’ delivery by truck. In addition to being the northernmost right to work state on the Eastern seaboard, Virginia has been ranked as the top state for business by CNBC. Richmond is located approximately 90 miles from the Port of Virginia in …
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Pratt & Whitney, a division of Raytheon Technologies Corp., will invest $650 million for its new turbine airfoil production facility in Asheville. East Hartford, Conn.-based Pratt & Whitney designs, manufactures and services aircraft and helicopter engines, as well as auxiliary power units for the aerospace industry. The new facility will span 1 million square feet and is expected to house 800 employees by 2027. According to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, the annual salary at the facility can reach $68,000 per year. The current average salary in Buncombe County is $43,134 per year. North Carolina is the second fastest growing aerospace hub in the United States, according to the Economic Development Partnership o North Carolina. Companies that operate in the Tar Heel State include GE Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and Spirit AeroSystems. The North Carolina Economic Investment Committee approved a job development investment grant (JDIG) for the project. Under the JDIG, the state could reimburse Pratt & Whitney up to $15.5 million over the next 12 years. Additionally, under the JDIG, the firm will transfer $5.2 million into the state’s Industrial Development Fund — Utility Account for use by rural communities elsewhere in the state. A timeline …
ATLANTA — QTS Realty Trust has completed the expansion of QTS Atlanta-Metro Data Center 2 (DC2), a 495,000-square-foot data center in Atlanta. The facility features 240,000 square feet of data hall space. QTS began the expansion in November 2019. DC2 is situated on QTS’ 95-acre campus and adjacent to Atlanta-Metro Data Center 1 (DC1), four miles northwest of downtown Atlanta. QTS signed two undisclosed tenants for the facility. DC2 supports 72 megawatts of power capacity, bringing the QTS campus to a more than 200-megawatt capacity. At full buildout, QTS expects to support more than 275 megawatts of power capacity.
JACKSONVILLE, TEXAS — New York-based A&G Real Estate Partners has negotiated the court-approved bankruptcy sale of a 435,196-square-foot distribution center in Jacksonville, about 120 miles southeast of Dallas, that was formerly occupied by Houston-based retailer Stage Stores. The property is situated on a 42.5-acre site that includes land for additional expansion. Bradenton-Fla.-based Bealls Inc. acquired the fee interest for the property with a winning bid of $7 million. The sale included the facility’s machinery and equipment, as well as the company’s intellectual property. At the time of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in May, Stage Stores operated 738 department stores and off-price stores under multiple brands such as Palais Royal, Peebles and Goody’s.
WOOD DALE, ILL. — Bestway Transport Inc. has signed a 67,932-square-foot industrial lease at 888 Central Ave. in Wood Dale. The property is situated near Chicago O’Hare International Airport as well as I-290. Chris Nelson of Lee & Associates represented Bestway Transport, which is a Chicagoland freight shipping and trucking company. Tom Rodeno, Matthew Stauber and Pat Turner of Colliers International represented the landlord, ML Realty Partners.
LAS VEGAS — CapRock Partners has purchased a five-acre land site at 3919 E. Cheyenne Ave. in northern Las Vegas for the development of CapRock Point @ Cheyenne, a build-to-suit industrial asset. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The site is permit-ready for the construction of a freestanding, 101,332-square-foot, Class A industrial building, which CapRock plans to deliver within nine months of start of construction. Tenants will have the opportunity to customize building plans for the build-to-suit spaces. Current building plans include the ability to divide the building into two units (45,507 square feet and 55,825 square feet); 13 dock-high doors; two grade-level doors; 30-foot clear heights; more than 100 parking spaces; a 132-foot truck court, including 60-foot truck apron and 53-foot truck circulation area; 2,000 amps, 227/480v, three-phase power; an ESFR sprinkler system; R-19 roof insulation; and build-to-suit office space. Mike Kendall, Gian Bruno, Chris Lane, Paul Sweetland, Jerry Doty and Dan Doherty of Colliers International represented CapRock Partners in the acquisition. Lane, Sweetland, Doty and Doherty are also overseeing leasing for the new facility.
VISALIA, CALIF. — The City of Visalia and the Visalia Economic Development Corp. have announced two new tenants at the Visalia Industrial Park currently under construction in Visalia. A 425,000-square-foot UPS hub is now complete and construction has begun on a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center for Amazon. YS Industrial is also developing two 300,000-square-foot speculative facilities adjacent to Millipore Sigma and near VWR (Avantor). Additionally, current tenants — SORMA, California Dairies and Hydrite Chemical Co. — are expanding their footprints at the industrial park.
PEWAUKEE, WIS. — Zilber Property Group has acquired a 165,000-square-foot industrial building in Pewaukee, located about 18 miles west of Milwaukee. The purchase price was undisclosed. The property is situated within a business park less than two miles north of I-94. It is currently vacant. Zilber plans to make various interior and exterior improvements to the building over the coming weeks. Scott Furmanski of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller. He will also market the property for lease on behalf of Zilber.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Dallas-based design/build firm ARCO/Murray has completed a North Arlington Self Storage, a 937-unit facility. Developed by Cogent Capital, the five-story property spans 100,665 gross square feet and includes an interior drive aisle, detached single-story units and a 900-square-foot sales office. Extra Space Storage will manage the property. ARCO/Murray provided complete design-build services including architectural, structural, MEP design, permitting and construction.
DALLAS — DXP Enterprises, a distributor of repair and maintenance products for several industries, has signed a 104,902-square-foot industrial lease renewal at Building A of Pinnacle Industrial Center in Dallas. Jason Moser of Stream Realty Partners represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. NAI Robert Lynn represented the landlord, Pinnacle A LLC.