HANOVER, MD-At the end of this year January, TIAA-CREF tapped Cassidy Turley as exclusive leasing agent and property manager for Candlewood Commerce Center—a three-asset industrial holding that, at the time, was 89% vacant. Cassidy Turley's Jarred Testa and Tilghman Herring would be the leading the charge.

Since then, the company has inked four leases totaling 90,000 square feet for the 357,706 square foot property. Atlantic Emergency Solutions, National Parcel Logistics, and Towner Resource Management signed on in the first half of the year. More recently, CORT Furniture inked a 10-year lease for 38,000 square feet. All told, Cassidy Turley has leased a combined total of 128,000 square feet to five tenants in the past year, according to Testa.

The Cassidy Turley team credited its "aggressive marketing" and the building's fundamentals for its success. While these factors no doubt played a role, the supply demand dynamic for industrial space also was a factor.

Consider TIAA-CREF's ownership of the center: it is emblematic of the growing interest of institutional capital in industrial assets, Baltimore market industrial properties to be precise, over the past two to three years. Even a virtually empty building attracted its interest. At the same time, supply has remained fairly constrained, leaving tenants with little room to negotiate or walk if they don't like a deal.

Delta Associates noted in a mid-year report that the Baltimore industrial market experienced solid market conditions during the first half of 2013, as net absorption was positive and the overall vacancy rate declined 100 basis points during the past twelve months. "Given improving conditions, landlords eagerly increased asking rents during the first half of 2013," it said. The market posted 1.7 million square feet of positive net absorption during the first half of 2013 with the overall vacancy rate dropping to 9.1%. Effective rates rose 0.9%.

Instant Insights /

One Year Later, Cassidy Turley Has Secured 90,000 SF at Candlewood

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