For the fifth straight year, the Baltimore industrial market ended the year with a positive net absorption, with improvements continuing in both rental rate growth and overall fundamentals. While not overly robust compared to other areas of the country, such as Ontario, Calif., Atlanta, New Jersey and Central Pennsylvania, the Baltimore market absorbed almost 3 million square feet of industrial space in 2015. This sustained growth trend is attributed to a steady, albeit choppy, stream of demand, sustained levels of new construction activity and falling availability and vacancy markers. Looking at the overall conditions of the market, several factors contribute to the improving fundamentals, the most significant of which is the ongoing, high demand for Class A industrial property, which continues to outpace available supply. The Baltimore market is located in the heart of the I-95 Corridor and can access 34 percent of the U.S. population within a single day’s drive. Additionally, given its location within the Washington/Baltimore metropolis, major retailers have selected Baltimore as a logical location for e-commerce and omni-channel fulfillment centers to distribute to homes. These centers will allow retailers same-day access to the 9 million people in the Baltimore-Washington region. On average, those residing in this …
NORTH EAST, MD. — Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) has partnered with Diamond Realty Investments Inc. to develop Principio Commerce Center I, a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center in North East. The property will be built on a 100-acre parcel within the 6 million-square-foot Principio Business Park. Home to existing tenants such as Restoration Hardware and General Electric, the industrial park is located adjacent to Route 40 and less than five miles from I-95. Principio Commerce Center I will feature a cross-dock design with 190-foot truck courts, 283 trailer stalls, up to 216 dock doors, 36-foot clear heights and an ESFR sprinkler system. Dave Dannenfelser of JLL and Mike Zerbe of Colliers International are handling Principio Commerce Center I’s leasing. Conewago is the project’s general contractor, and KSS Architects provided design services. PCCP provided a construction loan to TCC and Diamond Realty, which plan to deliver the asset in spring 2017.
LEBANON, TENN. — HSA Commercial Real Estate has partnered with Boston-based Great Point Investors LLC to co-develop a 652,000-square-foot speculative industrial building at Commerce Farms Business Center in Lebanon, a suburb of Nashville. Situated on 41 acres at the junction of State Route 840 and Highway 109, the distribution center will feature 32-foot clear heights, 116 truck docks, two drive-in doors and parking for 84 trailers and 257 cars. The partnership is scheduled to break ground on the facility later this month, with delivery planned in the first quarter of 2017. HSA Commercial and Great Point Investors have retained NorthStar Real Estate Advisors to oversee the marketing and leasing of the distribution center. The design team includes Chicago-based general contractor Premier Design + Build and architect Harris Architects Inc. HSA Commercial previously partnered with Great Point Investors to build a 220,000-square-foot distribution center near Indianapolis and a 218,500-square-foot spec industrial facility in north suburban Chicago.
SAVANNAH, GA. — The Southeastern Investment Sales Team has brokered the $49 million sale of Market Walk, a 255,000-square-foot shopping center in Savannah. Built in 2015, the center was 94 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Kroger Marketplace, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Buffalo Wild Wing, Jason’s Deli, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Edwin Watts and West Marine. Ryan McArdle, Steve Collins and David Rivers of Southeastern represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
SANDY SPRINGS, GA. — Pollack Shores Real Estate Group plans to develop 425 apartment units and 10,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space neighboring the Palisades office park in Sandy Springs. Pollack Shores purchased a site adjacent to the office park at 5901 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road for an undisclosed amount. Upon completion, the one-, two- and three-bedroom units will feature plank flooring, kitchen islands, granite and quartz countertops, under mount sinks and pendant lighting. The redevelopment is expected to be complete by winter 2018. Matrix Residential, the multifamily residential management division of Pollack Shores, will manage the residential portion of the property. Pollack Shores is also absorbing most of the costs for infrastructure improvements in the area, including the addition of an east-west connector between Peachtree-Dunwoody Road and Perimeter Center Parkway that will allow traffic to directly access the new 2.2 million-square-foot State Farm Insurance regional headquarters expected to open in late 2016.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — The Cordish Cos. has signed a lease with celebrity chef Guy Fieri for his new dining concept, Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse. The new barbecue restaurant will open to the public in September at Fourth Street Live!, a 350,000-square-foot dining and entertainment destination in downtown Louisville. Designed by Boston-based Niemitz Design Group and Louisville-based Bravura Architects, the restaurant will feature 6,700 square feet of dining space, 117 interior seats, 79 outdoor patio seats, two large meat smokers and an indoor/outdoor bar. Other dining concepts at Fourth Street Live! include Birracibo by Junior Bridgeman, Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse, Bourbon Raw, Goose Island Beer Bridge, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Brazeiros Churrascaria Brazilian Steakhouse and Eddie Merlot’s.
SANFORD, FLA. — Demolition work has commenced on Flea World, the one-time home of “the nation’s largest flea market under one roof,” in Sanford approximately 25 miles north of Orlando. The 118-acre site is being cleared to make way for Reagan Center, a mixed-use project that could eventually include as much as 2.4 million square feet of offices, restaurants, retail stores, apartments and townhomes. The property is situated on U.S. Route 17 at Ronald Reagan Boulevard and County Home Road. The 34-year-old flea market space is situated directly across from the Seminole County Government Operations Center, the courthouse and Seminole State College. Reagan Center’s construction will kick off a 20-year effort by the municipalities of Seminole County, Sanford, Lake Mary, Winter Springs, Longwood and Casselberry to create an economic development corridor along Route 17. “Reagan Center will create employment opportunities for thousands of Central Floridians over the next decade and will be a major economic engine,” says Paul Partyka, partner at NAI Realvest in Orlando and the broker of record for the $300 million development. “Because of its location, size and economic impact, Reagan Center will rank as one of Florida’s benchmark development projects.” Hastings Homes is carrying out the …
ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Beacon Partners has broken ground on a new 513,000-square-foot distribution center in Orangeburg. The project is a build-to-suit facility for Husqvarna Consumer Outdoor Products, a subsidiary of the Swedish manufacturer of outdoor power products. Husqvarna has signed a long-term lease at the property, which will be situated adjacent to the company’s existing 1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility. Beacon Partners expects to deliver the property in the fourth quarter of this year. The project team includes general contractor InterCon Building Corp., architect Merriman Schmitt and civil engineer Alliance Consulting & Engineers.
ATLANTA — AloStar has provided two loans for an office building and shopping center in metro Atlanta totaling $23.6 million. The bank funded both loans through its commercial real estate platform, AloStar Real Estate Finance. The financing included a $19 million loan for 1100 Circle 75, a 16-story office building in Atlanta’s Cumberland/Galleria submarket, and a $4.6 million loan for Shoppes at Trickum, a 49,900-square-foot, Walmart-anchored shopping center in Woodstock that is also leased to Dollar Tree and rue21. AloStar provided the acquisition financing for Shoppes at Trickum to Shoppes at Trickum LLC, an affiliate of SunCap Real Estate Investments.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — NAI Rauch Weaver Norfleet Kurtz & Co. has arranged the $10.8 million sale of 2101 Commercial, a 94,320-square-foot office building located at 2101 W. Commercial Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. NRNS Acquisition 2101 Commercial LLC, a company backed by local entrepreneur Howard Dvorkin, purchased the office building from RFP Mainstreet 2101 Commercial LLC. Michael Scarpino of NAI Rauch Weaver represented the buyer in the transaction, and Warren Weiser, Harry Blyden and Mark Goldstein of Continental Real Estate Co. represented the seller. The buyer has retained William Kahn of NAI Rauch Weaver to lease the property.