MADISON HEIGHTS, MI-In a two-phase structured closing, Malvern, PA-based Liberty Property Trust has disposed of a 16-building, light industrial portfolio totaling 249,729 sf, to Chicago-based First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. Thirteen of the 16 buildings have recently closed, with the remainder of the portfolio to close by the end of the year.

Twelve of the buildings are located in Madison Heights and one is in Troy. All buildings are 100% occupied, while the three remaining buildings are vacant.

"The reason why it was structured in this way is because the three buildings are currently vacant," explains Paul Hoge, principal and associate with Signature Associates-Oncor International's Southfield office. "This will give the seller a little more time to tenant the property, though First Industrial will still take the buildings whether they're empty or not." Hoge and colleague Joe Banyai represented both parties in the transaction.

Though the price was not disclosed on the sale, sources note that the market range for properties of this type range from $55 per sf to $65 per sf. Hoge tells GlobeSt.com that Liberty's reason for selling the structures are due to the company's change in focus in the Detroit area. "They already deal in industrial product, but they wanted to get away from the smaller, single-tenant product and focus their efforts on larger industrial and office products," he says.