In the last quarter, more than 400,000 sf of warehouse and showroom product, mostly in the Trinity Industrial District, quietly rolled into the company's 1.5-million-sf portfolio. Jim Lake is looking to add another 200,000 sf to 300,000 sf before the year ends, A. Taylor Allday, Jim Lake Cos.' asset manager, tells GlobeSt.com.

The latest purchase is a 52,340-sf warehouse, sitting on two acres at 2140 Hutton Dr. in Carrollton. Allday took the deal to Jim Lake Cos. while he was still at Dallas-based Morse Co. The Hutton Drive listing with International Capital of Dallas got put on the backburner as the buyer negotiated for two warehouses at 1144-1188 Quaker Court and two more at 8901-9011 Carpenter Freeway. Now, Allday's with Jim Lake and so is the building, a vacant structure in line for a minor makeover to accommodate a target market of industrial users needing 15,000 sf to 30,000 sf.

International Capital, owned by Christiane Hepfer, held the deed for 10 years to the 22-year-old Valwood building, assessed at $1.5 million. Allday's not saying what Jim Lake paid, but did say it was "a below-market value" that brought "north of $25 per sf" for the seller.

The buying spree is tied to a strategy to build a property base for users from 1,000 sf to 30,000 sf, maybe even 40,000 sf. The bulk of the current portfolio is geared toward 1,000-sf to 10,000-sf tenants, says Allday. The plan is to acquire addresses that "fit in with the natural growth pattern for the tenants that we have," he explains.

In November 2002, Jim Lake bought the two-building Quaker Court property, totaling 205,000, from Beltline Quaker LP, an entity of Dallas' Tom Hicks. That holding is now 85% occupied.

In December 2002, the company bought the 70%-leased, two-building development along John Carpenter Freeway from Chicago-based First Industrial Realty Trust. The 136,732-sf deal was crafted by the Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc.'s Dallas team of Tom Pearson, senior director, and Lizzy Pappachen, who represented Jim Lake Cos., and Jeff Mercer of Dallas-based Robert Lynn Co., the seller's negotiator.