The three-building package in the Carrollton park came to market in the first quarter, with the closing finally taking place at the fourth quarter's start. "Both parties agreed to take the necessary time to structure a stabilization program," Jack Fraker, executive vice president in Dallas for CB Richard Ellis Inc., tells GlobeSt.com. The package's occupancy was under 90% at sale time due to Kmart's bankruptcy sidelining about 50,000 sf at 2801 Trade Center Dr.
Principal laid cash on the line for a two-year-old trio that came to market without an asking price. Fraker, mum about the size of the final check, did say "the pricing was in line with other recently constructed class A properties that sold in Dallas." The trio carries a combined assessment value of $17.6 million, but it's a safe bet in today's race for new Dallas space that the package brought top dollar.
The traded deeds are 2941 Trade Center Dr., an 86,400-sf building on 3.4 acres; 2801 Trade Center Dr., 132,396-sf design on about 6.7 acres; and 2901 Trade Center Dr., 252,756-sf structure on 17.7 acres. The tenant rosters include Home Interiors & Gifts, Herman Miller, Morrison Supply and Conway Communications. The properties' leasing and management will be passed from Argent to the Holt Cos. in Dallas.
Argent, one of the largest owners in the Frankford Trade Center, had 15 qualified buyers vying for the warehouse/distribution portfolio. The disposition, Fraker says, was part of Argent's longstanding strategy to firm up relationships with the country's pension funds and advisers. "Argent was eager to develop an institutional relationship with Principal," he adds, noting there were three offers of roughly the same amount on the table for the assets. "Argent really felt comfortable with Principal...The acquisitions team at Principal is experienced and able to understand the Dallas/Fort Worth industrial market and recognized the long-term potential of the Frankford Trade Center."
The Frankford Trade Center is a 165-acre, master-planned development along Stemmons Freeway with access to the George Bush Turnpike and Texas 121. The park has Foreign Trade Zone status as well as Freeport exemptions, two must-haves in the DFW market to attract the premier names on the distribution circuit.
The CBRE Investment Properties Group team also included Randy Baird, senior vice president, and John Robinson, first vice president, while Argent had its lead players, Doc Cornutt, Terry Darrow and Jonathan Stites also sitting at the bargaining table. Mark Hanrahan, principal for the Des Moines, IA-based Principal Financial Group represented its interest and that of a pension fund client.
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