HOUSTON — KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), a global alternative asset management investor based in New York City, has purchased Park 8Ninety, a 1.8 million-square-foot industrial park in southwest Houston. Artis Real Estate Investment Trust, a REIT based in Winnipeg, Canada, sold the 12-building park to KKR for $234.2 million.
Artis REIT and Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) developed Park 8Ninety in five phases between 2017 and 2022. The 127-acre park features a mix of single-tenant and multi-tenant logistics buildings with clear heights ranging from 24 to 36 feet.
Park 8Ninety is situated along Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Parkway) and U.S. Route 90A and features multiple access points to both roads. The park is situated about 20 miles southwest of downtown Houston and 19 miles west of William P. Hobby Airport.
“Park 8Ninety is a great addition to our national logistics portfolio and expands our footprint in Houston, which continues to benefit from strong demand fundamentals and comparatively lower supply than many other markets in the United States,” says Ben Brudney, a managing director in the real estate group at KKR who oversees the firm’s U.S. industrial investments. “Park 8Ninety is a high-quality, well-designed, multi-tenant park with a diverse and staggered rent roll.”
The park had a $59 million mortgage at the time of the sale, according to Artis REIT. The seller is using the proceeds of the Park 8Ninety sale to strengthen its balance sheet, reduce debt and enhance liquidity, according to Samir Manji, President and CEO of Artis.
“This disposition is an important step toward achieving this objective and will provide us with greater flexibility to navigate the current environment,” says Manji. “We are very pleased with the terms we were able to negotiate on behalf of our owners and look forward to demonstrating continued success in executing our disposition strategy throughout the remainder of the year.”
KKR is acquiring the park through its KKR Real Estate Partners Americas III fund and capital accounts advised by KKR.
Across its strategies, KKR has committed or acquired approximately $7.5 billion of logistics assets in the U.S. industrial sector since 2018 and currently owns over 48 million square feet of industrial real estate in major U.S. metropolitan areas. The company’s assets under management totaled approximately $71 billion as of March 31, 2024.
KKR’s stock price closed on Friday, July 12 at $110.74 per share, up from $60.68 a year ago, an 82.5 percent increase.
Artis REIT owns and operates a portfolio of industrial, office and retail properties in Canada and the United States. As of March 31, the REIT’s portfolio spanned 14.1 million square feet across 116 commercial properties. Artis REIT’s common units are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
— John Nelson