AUSTELL, GA-Seattle-based Metzler Realty has acquired a five-building class A industrial portfolio with nearly one million sf in Riverside Business Park for approximately $52 million. The seller was JP Morgan.

The properties acquired are a 142,000-sf building at 7685 the Bluffs, a 207,000-sf building at 7775 the Bluffs, a 217,000-sf building at 825 Riverside Parkway, a 241,000-sf building at 850 Aquila Way and a 144,000-sf building at 7924 Troon Court. Riverside Business Park is a 300-acre master planned industrial park in the Interstate 20 West Industrial corridor near the Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The seller was represented by Stewart Calhoun and David Meline, of Cushman & Wakefield. Zeb Bradford and Ben Blakeley, of Metzler's Atlanta office, represented Metzler. "The quality of the buildings and Riverside Business Park are both high," Bradford tells GlobeSt.com. "The characteristics of the buildings in terms of tenants provided some diversity."

Constructed between 1997 and 2001, the five buildings are 88% occupied. Main tenants in the buildings on the Bluffs include Honeywell and Hyundai. Tenants in the buildings on Riverside Parkway and Aquila Way include DHL, Moore Wallace, Kawneer, Fulton Paper Co. and Door Group. The Troon Court building is 100% occupied by ADVO Inc.

Metzler plans to hold the assets long term and lease up the unoccupied space. "This acquisition allows us to gain a foothold in the rapidly growing Atlanta industrial market," Bradford says. "We feel this area will continue to evolve as a core distribution location in Atlanta given its direct access to the airport and proximity to large labor pools."