CRANBURY, N.J. — Cushman & Wakefield has negotiated a 233,000-square-foot industrial lease for pharmaceutical manufacturer CMIC CMO USA in Cranbury, a northeastern suburb of Trenton. The company will be the sole occupant of the facility, which was previously leased to Sun Pharmaceutical and will retain much of the same research and manufacturing equipment. Shawn Straka, Chuck Fern, Todd Elfand, Jason Barton, Thomas Tucci, Stephen Shoemaker, Paul Giannone, Kevin Carton, Jaclyn Marques, Elizabeth Rouse and Joseph Vacca of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Gary Hans of Matrix Development represented the landlord, which was undisclosed.
GOODYEAR, ARIZ. — ViaWest Group has purchased a 25.9-acre land parcel at the southwest corner of Elwood Street and Sarival Avenue in Goodyear. Santa Ana, Calif.-based RADOS Properties-Arizona sold the parcel for $4.5 million. ViaWest’s joint venture partner is a Philadelphia-based investment company. The joint venture plans to develop three industrial buildings totaling 410,000 square feet on the property, which is zoned for industrial. Upon completion in early 2021, the project will feature a 284,290-square-foot facility, a 58,473-square-foot property and a 67,476-square-foot building. Each building is intended for single- or multi-tenant use with modern specifications. Construction is slated to begin in March 2020. Allen Lowe of Lee & Associates represented the buyer and seller in the deal.
ITASCA, ILL. — Keyence Corp. has signed an industrial lease for 80,849 square feet at Building II in Bridge Point Itasca, a three-building industrial campus currently under development in Itasca. Keyence, a manufacturer of automation sensors, barcode readers, measuring instruments and digital microscopes, is the first tenant to sign a lease at the 741,621-square-foot project. Bridge Development Partners is the landlord. Keyence is slated to take occupancy in the third quarter of 2020. Building II, spanning 247,176 square feet, will feature a clear height of 32 feet, 34 exterior docks, two drive-in doors and parking for 234 cars. Chris Nelson and Jeffrey Janda of Lee & Associates represented Bridge in the lease transaction. David Haigh of NAI Hiffman and Mike Nicholson of Acclaim Group represented Keyence.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS — McCarthy Building Cos. is nearing completion of a $40 million helicopter training facility for Airbus Helicopters Inc. and France-based Helisim in Grand Prairie, located in the central part of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex. The 18,000-square-foot facility will house two helicopter flight simulators, a 6,000-square-foot office space and a 12,000 square-foot simulator hall with a tech room, as well as computer rooms and workshop and meeting spaces. BOKA Powell designed the project, completion of which is scheduled for March 2020.
LEWISVILLE, TEXAS — Paint manufacturer and retailer Benjamin Moore has opened its 238,00-square-foot distribution center at 121 Lakepointe Crossing in the northern Dallas suburb of Lewisville. The company is relocating its local distribution operations from a 70,000-square-foot facility in Mesquite, a property that will continue to serve as a manufacturing plant. The company moved into its new space earlier this month. Mark Collins, Dean Collins and Bill Brown of Cushman & Wakefield represented Benjamin Moore in its site selection and lease negotiations.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dalfen Industrial and Investcorp have partnered to acquire the North Carolina Industrial Portfolio, a 10-property, 1.9 million-square-foot industrial portfolio spanning from Charlotte to Greensboro. The buildings were built between 2000 and 2013. Major tenants of the portfolio include Crate & Barrel, Lenovo Group Ltd., United Technologies Corp., Britax, Geodis and Henkel AG & Co. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.
SAN FRANCISCO — Stockbridge Real Estate, a California-based investment firm with additional offices in Chicago and Atlanta, has acquired a portfolio of 17 industrial properties totaling 8.7 million square feet in seven states. Stockbridge purchased the portfolio from Hillwood, an industrial development and investment firm based in Fort Worth, Texas, according to IPE Real Assets, which tracks institutional property investments across the world. The analytics firm also reported that the transaction fetched a sales price of approximately $800 million. All of the properties are fully stabilized and have an average construction delivery date in 2018. The assets are located across the following markets: Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville, Chicago, Las Vegas, Jacksonville and Eastern Pennsylvania. “This portfolio stands out for its high-quality, modern construction and well-connected, population-rich locations where major e-commerce industry tenants have chosen to expand their footprints,” says Nicole Stagnaro, managing director at Stockbridge. “In combination, these factors support the kind of cash flow visibility we expect from a long-term core portfolio.” The transaction comes on the heels of Stockbridge’s acquisition of a portfolio of 26 logistics and e-commerce facilities from San Diego-based Westcore Properties. PGIM Real Estate Finance served as the primary lender in both portfolio …
CARLSBAD, CALIF. — U.S. industrial investment is expected to continue at a steady pace into 2020, although headwinds created by tariffs and a slowing economy are beginning to strengthen, according to the third annual Industrial Investor Sentiment Report from Real Capital Markets (RCM) and the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR). Investors are shifting strategies, however, to find safe havens against any market slowdown. Some investors are adjusting their portfolios toward land-constrained markets that provide the potential for higher rent growth. Among those strong markets are Seattle, Miami, Northern New Jersey and parts of Southern California. Other investors are moving back to core markets to minimize risk or are focusing on secondary markets where further cap rate compression is more likely, according to the report. “Investors are projecting a steady flow of industrial activity in the United States for the foreseeable future, given the strong fundamentals and the stability this sector offers,” says Steve Shanahan, executive managing director of Carlsbad, Calif.-based RCM, a part of LightBox. “Investors are keenly aware of the potential for an economic slowdown but are focused on the long-term horizon and taking the steps necessary to protect their investments.” The RCM-SIOR report includes insights and …
BUFFALO, N.Y. — JLL has brokered the $8.3 million sale of Bunzl Distribution Center, a 152,000-square-foot industrial property in Buffalo. The facility features 25-foot clear heights, 27 front-loading dock doors and office space. At the time of sale, the property was 100 percent leased to packaged food distributor Bunzl Midatlantic LLC. Jose Cruz and Tyler Peck of JLL represented the seller, Foxfield Industrial, in the transaction. Michael Pagniucci of JLL secured a long-term, fixed-rate acquisition loan through an undisclosed life insurance company for the buyer, which was also undisclosed.
TEMPE, ARIZ. — Dixxon Flannel Co. has purchased a 48,000-square-foot industrial and retail warehouse located at 7200 S. Priest Drive in Tempe. A furniture store sold the asset for $4.5 million. Situated on 2.6 acres, the two-story property features a 13,000-square-foot showroom and office space. The first floor includes four office spaces, a showroom, kitchen, shower and two bathrooms, while the second floor features six office spaces, a storage area and conference room. Additionally, the building features 24-foot clear heights, four dock-high loading doors and a full sprinkler system. Ryan Reisman, Chris Rogers, Trevor McKendry and Steve McKendry of DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services represented the seller in the deal.