Three of the air-freight facilities are
located in the Los Angeles
International Airport submarket,
which is known for its low
vacancy rates.

(Save the date: RealShare Industrial 2012 comes to The Banker's Club, Miami, December 5 - 6.)

Denver-based DCT Industrial Trust Inc. is under contract to purchase a four-asset portfolio totaling 563,000 square feet from a seller DCT declined to identify to GlobeSt.com. According to Matt Murphy, DCT’s CFO, the purchase price for the portfolio was $85.7 million. Three of the class-A, state-of-the-art air-freight buildings are located in the Los Angeles International Airport submarket, and one is located in the Chicago O’Hare International Airport submarket, both of which are prime distribution locations known for their low vacancy rates.

The portfolio is currently 99.6% occupied by eight tenants. The acquisition will bring DCT Industrial’s Southern California total consolidated portfolio to 4.5 million square feet and 99.7% occupied and the company’s Chicago total consolidated portfolio to 4.1 million square feet and 96.3% occupied.

DCT’s deposit on the four buildings went non-refundable in August and is subject only to the loan assumption and standard closing conditions. The off-market transaction is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

“We are very pleased to be one step closer to adding these exceptional buildings to our portfolio,” said Phil Hawkins, president and CEO of DCT. “These extremely well-located and irreplaceable assets continue our focus of expanding and upgrading our presence in key markets.”

As GlobeSt.com reported in August, DCT’s efforts to sell off older, non-core assets became the gain of Mayfield Properties LLC as the latter acquired a 1-million-square-foot, 13-property Houston industrial portfolio from the former. The new owner plans spruce-ups to the class B buildings with plans to push rents as leases roll.