SHELBYVILLE, IND. — Ranger Power has unveiled plans to build a $175 million, 199-megawatt solar project in Shelbyville, about 30 miles southeast of Indianapolis. Ranger Power plans to begin building the project in 2022 with completion slated for 2023. Upon completion, the plant will generate enough power to serve 35,000 households. Electricity generated by the project will be distributed exclusively through Indianapolis-based Wabash Valley Power Association, a wholesale electric supplier to 19 non-profit electric cooperatives in Indiana. The agreement extends through 2057. Approximately 1,014 acres of the 1,200-acre project are devoted to solar panels. Ranger has signed 17 lease agreements with private landowners within Shelby County. The project is called Speedway Solar, a reference to the Indianapolis 500 racing tradition. Shelby County Council approved the development in March.
MOUNT PROSPECT, ILL. — Avison Young has negotiated the sale of a 182,298-square-foot industrial portfolio in Mount Prospect for an undisclosed price. The two-building portfolio was 90 percent leased at the time of sale. The properties are situated on 8.2 acres at 1900-2000 Carboy Drive. Erik Foster, Mike Wilson, Chris Lydon and Chris Tecu of Avison Young represented the owner, Brennan Investment Group. San Francisco-based Glen Una Management Co. purchased the buildings.
BOWLING GREEN, KY. — Georgia-Pacific’s Consumer Products Group has unveiled plans to invest $100 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, a town in southern Kentucky. The investment will expand operations for the production of Dixie-branded plates and bowls. Construction has commenced and the project is slated for completion in the first half of 2020. “This expansion will help us continue meeting the needs of our customers, as demand continues to grow for high-quality, durable paper plates and bowls,” says Erik Sjogren, vice president and general manager of livingware at Georgia-Pacific. “We believe this expansion will also position our Bowling Green Dixie facility to remain competitive in the market and in the local community for the long-term.” The expansion will include a new building and the addition of a new printer and several new plate forming presses. The project will create more than 50 full-time jobs, increasing total employment at the plant to about 200 people. Originally built in 1991, the plant has been expanded several times. Production at the facility represents about 25 percent of all paper plates and bowls produced by Georgia-Pacific. The Atlanta-based company also operates a plant in Lexington, Ky. Within Kentucky, Georgia-Pacific currently …
DETROIT — Morning Calm Management has acquired a nine-property industrial portfolio in metro Detroit for $83.7 million. Promanas Group sold the portfolio, which totals approximately 1.5 million square feet. The assets are located within Livonia, Auburn Hills, Redford, Saline, Lake Orion and Macomb Township. Tom Oldham and Dan Labes of Newmark Knight Frank oversaw the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Aries Capital LLC, a Chicago-based commercial mortgage and investment banking firm, has closed a $6.5 million CMBS loan for the refinancing of a 16,500-square-foot manufacturing facility in Brooklyn. The property is located at 413 20th St. in the borough’s Greenwood Heights neighborhood and was fully leased at the time of sale to Sedona Marble & Granite, which is also a part owner of the building. Neil Freeman and Brandon Perdeck of Aries Capital handled the transaction on behalf of the borrower, New York-based TKS Development Group. The nonrecourse loan carried a 10-year term, 75 percent loan-to-value ratio and 30-year amortization schedule.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — KeyBank has provided a $40 million acquisition loan to Weston Inc. for the purchase of an industrial portfolio in North and South Carolina. Details on the individual facilities were not disclosed, but the portfolio spans five buildings, 1.5 million square feet, and is located in the Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Greenville and Augusta industrial markets. Weston is a privately owned company based in Cleveland that owns more than 13 million square feet of industrial space nationwide.
WARREN, OHIO — Industrial Commercial Properties LLC (ICP) has acquired a 1.4 million-square-foot former Kmart distribution center in Warren in northeastern Ohio. The purchase price was not disclosed. The property is located at 541 Perkins Jones Road. ICP is working with three tenants to take occupancy of a portion of the building, according to Chris Salata, COO. This is ICP’s fifth acquisition of a Sears or Kmart facility. The company most recently acquired a former Sears distribution center in Groveport, Ohio.
BELLEVILLE, MICH. — Beaumont Health has signed a 124,564-square-foot industrial lease in Belleville, about 30 miles west of Detroit. The lease brings the property, located at 41965 Ecorse Road, to full occupancy. Peter Rogers and Randall Allman of CBRE represented the owner, Brookwood Capital Partners, in the lease transaction. Insite Commercial represented Beaumont Health.
MONROE, GA. — Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas Inc., a global supplier of automotive parts, has announced a massive, multi-year expansion of its manufacturing plant in Monroe, approximately 45 miles east of Atlanta. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced on Friday, May 17 that Hitachi will invest anywhere from $100 million to $330 million in expanding its existing facility. The project is expected to bring an additional 100 jobs to Walton County. The parent company of Hitachi Americas, Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd., is headquartered in Tokyo and manufactures engine powertrain systems, electric powertrain systems and integrated vehicle control systems. The company opened its first facility in Georgia in 1997 and currently employs more than 900 people in the Peach State, making it the largest employer in Walton County. The expansion project will be unveiled in phases over the next five years, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and parts produced at the plant will continue to be sold to major automotive companies like Ford, General Motors, Honda and Nissan. Hitachi cited larger growth in the automotive industry and the strength of the local workforce as the key incentives behind the expansion project. “It’s our goal at the Georgia Department of Economic Development to …
Memphis continued its record-setting ways throughout 2018. Absorption was higher than 2017 by over 735,000 square feet for a total of 6.7 million square feet. Overall vacancy rates fell below 6 percent for the first time in recent history. As of Jan. 1, 2019, vacancy rates were at 5.8 percent. One would think this would come at the expense of rental rates, however, rental rates stayed constant at $2.77 per square foot until year-end. This represents a slight increase of 10 cents per square foot over 2017. With an industrial market exceeding 270 million square feet, it’s no wonder how Memphis got its name as “America’s Distribution Center.” Memphis International Airport is the second largest cargo airport in the world, home to 400 trucking companies, the third busiest trucking corridor (Interstate 40 to Little Rock), one of only four cities to be served by five long-haul Class 1 rail systems, the fourth largest inland port and the second largest stillwater port. Home to the FedEx World Hub, as well as UPS and USPS hubs all operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, Memphis provides the most cost-effective distribution and logistics operations in the country. While Memphis has been …