LA MARQUE, TEXAS —Partners Real Estate has brokered the sale of a 43,000-square-foot industrial building in La Marque, a southeastern suburb of Houston. According to LoopNet Inc., the single-tenant building at 4725 Lawndale St. was constructed in 1978 and features 20-foot clear heights. Wyatt Huff of Partners represented the seller in the transaction, and Hunter Stockard, also with Partners, represented the buyer. Both parties requested anonymity.
WRENTHAM, MASS. — Fairbanks Morse Defense, a provider of maritime engineering and manufacturing solutions, has signed a 71,350-square-foot industrial lease in Wrentham, located along the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border. The space is located within the 176,800-square-foot building at 315 Green St., which features a clear height of 32 feet. Kelly Sullivan and Rachel Igoe of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant, which plans to take occupancy in the fourth quarter, in the lease negotiations. Ellison Patten and James Tambone of Lincoln Property Co. internally represented the landlord, which developed the building in partnership with real estate private equity firm Stockbridge.
WOODBRIDGE, VA. — Newmark has negotiated the $132 million sale of Featherstone Industrial Park, a 13-building, 734,606-square-foot industrial property in Woodbridge, a city in Northern Virginia that sits about 23 miles from Washington, D.C. The park is located about three miles from I-95 and was fully leased to 45 tenants at the time of sale. The acquisition includes industrial outdoor storage (IOS) and redevelopment opportunities. Ben McCarty, Cris Abramson, Will Bradley, Dustin Volz and Nick Signor of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was also not released, but Washington Business Journal reports that an affiliate of Boston-based TA Realty purchased the park from Rosenthal Properties and Stockbridge.
BALTIMORE — Merritt Properties, a privately held commercial real estate developer and owner based in Baltimore, has received a $750 million investment led by Centerbridge Partners LP. The investment includes capital to grow the company’s shallow-bay industrial portfolio in existing markets in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, as well as new markets. As part of the investment, Centerbridge acquired the ownership interest previously held by Almanac, the private real estate investment arm of Neuberger that has partnered with Merritt since 1997. Almanac is also part of the investment group led by Centerbridge. Jefferies Private Capital Advisory served as financial adviser to Merritt in connection with the transaction, and CBRE National Partners served as real estate adviser. Miles & Stockbridge PC and Kramon & Graham PA provided legal counsel to Merritt. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to Centerbridge, and Seyfarth Shaw LLP represented Almanac. Additionally, Merritt has announced changes to its C-suite of executives. Robb Merritt, the company’s current president, has been appointed to CEO, while previous CEO Scott Dorsey will transition to executive chairman. Bobby Lanigan, who previously led Merritt’s acquisitions and strategic growth initiatives, will become the firm’s new president.
SAN ANTONIO — Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) has unveiled plans to invest $3.6 billion to expand the Toyota Texas manufacturing campus in San Antonio with a second vehicle assembly line to support production of the Tacoma truck. The expansion will create 2,000 new jobs and add 2.5 million square feet to Toyota Texas, doubling its size by 2030. TMNA will transition Tacoma production from Toyota Motor Manufacturing Baja California, located in Mexico, to the expanded Toyota Texas plant over an approximate four-year period. Toyota Texas currently includes a vehicle assembly line and new rear axle plant that is nearing startup. “The 2,000 acres of South Texas ranchland our plant stands on today was purposefully selected for its ability to scale with vehicle demand, and today marks the first step toward realizing that potential,” says Frank Voss, TMNA group vice president of truck manufacturing and president of Toyota Texas. This expansion brings Toyota’s total investment in San Antonio to $8.3 billion since breaking ground in 2003. Toyota’s local workforce will climb to approximately 6,000 team members, supported by 23 onsite suppliers and their employees. For nearly 20 years, Toyota Texas has rolled out trucks and SUVs, assembling more than 197,000 …
CHICAGO — The Missner Group, in partnership with Thackeray Partners, has completed a 180,000-square-foot industrial development at 4002 S. Princeton Ave. in Chicago’s Fuller Park neighborhood. Located within Chicago Stockyards Industrial Park, the project marks Missner’s third in the historic industrial district. The speculative facility can accommodate up to four tenants. Larry Goldwasser of CBRE is handling leasing.
LONDON AND BOCA RATON, FLA. — Bridgepoint Group, a private-sector investment management firm based in London, has entered into an agreement to acquire South Florida-based owner-operator Kayne Anderson Real Estate in a deal valued at roughly $1.4 billion. To fund the transaction, Bridgepoint plans to pay $759 million in cash and issue roughly 189 new shares of its common stock at an undisclosed price. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. Upon closing, Bridgepoint’s assets under management will total roughly $117 billion across all verticals. According to Bridgepoint, the deal allows the British company to add commercial real estate as a fifth investment vertical to its platform, thus diversifying its holdings and expanding its presence in U.S. markets. The deal also positions nearly half of Bridgepoint’s portfolio to be comprised of real assets. Kayne Anderson Real Estate maintains about $22 million in assets under management, inclusive of debt, across commercial verticals such as multifamily (including seniors and student housing), healthcare and industrial. Upon closing, CEO Al Rabil will continue to lead and guide the business. “For the last 20 years, we have built a scaled real estate platform focused …
Today, there’s a multitude of factors shaping the retail leasing market. Smaller footprints, the influence of technology, changing lifestyles of younger generations, limited new supply and backfilling closures are just some of the most prominent storylines. As of the first quarter, the national retail vacancy rate held stable at 4.4 percent, up 10 basis points from the prior quarter, according to Colliers, which covers malls, shopping centers and general retail across 390 markets. “The market remains structurally tight due to limited new supply and steady backfill demand,” summarizes the brokerage firm in its first-quarter “U.S. Retail Market Statistics” report. “A clear bifurcation persists, with tight availability for small spaces and more modest availability among large anchor boxes.” In a nutshell, today’s retailers prioritize smaller, more efficient spaces with strong visibility, easy access and co-tenancy with established traffic drivers along with the flexibility to support omnichannel operations, says Ron Goldstone, executive vice president at NAI Farbman in Farmington Hills, Michigan. In the first quarter of the year, Continental Realty Corp. executed deals with tenants in the health and wellness category, service-oriented uses, food-and-beverage, children’s schools, entertainment and various franchise concepts in the 1,500- to 2,000-square-foot range, according to Kristina O’Keefe, senior …
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), the Louisville-based operator of the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC franchises, has entered into an agreement to sell the Pizza Hut chain across two separate transactions with a combined value of $2.7 billion. LongRange Capital, a private equity firm based in Stamford, Conn., has agreed to purchase Pizza Hut outside of mainland China for approximately $1.5 billion. The company is financing its acquisition using funds from UBS Investment Bank. Yum China Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YUMC), which is based in Shanghai and was spun off from Yum! Brands in 2016, is acquiring the Pizza Hut holdings in mainland China for approximately $1.2 billion. Yum China says it is financing its acquisition using a combination of cash and debt financing. Yum! Brands announced in November that it began exploring strategic options for the Pizza Hut vertical. Founded in 1958, Pizza Hut is considered the second-largest pizza brand in the world with more than 15,500 restaurants in 108 countries globally and approximately $10 billion in annual system-wide sales, according to LongRange Capital. “Under LongRange and Yum China, Pizza Hut will be well-positioned for future growth with ownership that brings deep expertise in the restaurant …
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — Locally based brokerage firm Holt Lunsford Commercial has negotiated a 39,860-square-foot industrial lease in the northern Dallas metro of Carrollton. According to LoopNet Inc., the building at 2425 Camp Ave. was constructed in 1979 and totals 120,820 square feet. Andrew Gilbert, Keaton Brice and Jon Skidmore of Holt Lunsford represented the landlord, Boston-based Taurus Investment Holdings, in the lease negotiations. Rich Young of Rich Young Co. represented the tenant, Turnkey Overstock Inc.