ALLENTOWN, PA-Opus East sells two large facilities, including the recently completed 490,000-sf DHL East Coast Distribution Center here, for an estimated aggregate of approximately $80 million. At the same time, Craig Guers, VP and general manager of the mid-Atlantic office in Plymouth Meeting, tells GlobeSt.com it has acquired 52 acres in Nazareth Township and 92 acres in Macungie Township and will break ground for a spec distribution building in each location this August.

In describing the sales, he says, "we are merchant builders. We build, lease and sell." The building at 910 Nestle Way here was constructed for DHL and is fully leased to the courier company for 20 years. The Washington, DC investment team of Grubb & Ellis, which includes Eric Berkman, Steve Gichner, Steve Bonge, Brian MacDonald and Juliana Ko, represented Opus in the sale to UBS Investment Bank. UBS spoke for itself.

Neither Berkman nor Guers would disclose the price. But, on condition of anonymity, brokers familiar with the transaction tell GlobeSt.com it "approached $63 million, or a whopping $129 per sf," a figure that was not denied. Without revealing the exact price, Berkman acknowledged it was high and attributed that to the long-term lease, the creditworthiness of the tenant and the high-tech capabilities of the space.

The Opus Funds, an affiliate of Minneapolis-based Opus Group, the parent of Opus East, bought the 235,000-sf Bethlehem Crossings II facility for $17 million, or $70 per sf, according to Guers. This price tag is also significantly above average. For example, in late 2004, Liberty Property Trust acquired a two-building distribution portfolio here for a little less than $51 per sf.

Guers declined to disclose what Opus paid for the two land parcels, both of which were sold by Jaindel Land, which Guers says "is the largest land-owner in the area." Plans call for two buildings, 220,000 sf and 335,000 sf, respectively on the Nazareth parcel. The Macungie parcel can accommodate 1.2 million sf, he says. "We now plan for three buildings there, one at 600,000 sf and two at 300,000 sf. We like the Lehigh Valley and, like DHL, think its easy access to New York and Philadelphia is a plus."