The frenzy for cold-storageproduct has already begun. With Amazon's purchase of Whole Foodslast year and the growth of online grocery shopping, many areexpecting the need for cold-storage space—especially in infillmarkets—to grow over the next three years. DedeauxProperties, along with its joint venture partnerBarings Real Estate, experienced the heightenedinvestor interest in cold-storage with the recent sale of the LosAngeles Food Center, a 267,000, 10.6-acre cold storage site inVernon. The property traded hands following a multi-millionrenovation, and investors lined up to make an offer.

“Savvy investors are aware of the growth in consumers purchasingperishable products online,” Matt Evans, chiefinvestment officer at Dedeaux Properties, tellsGlobeSt.com. “As such, there's more investor interest in thisasset type. We had strong interest from buyers and manywell-known investment groups made offers to purchase creating acompetitive bid process. As we had expected, there is now moreinstitutional buyer interest for cold-storage buildings, whichhelped to drive strong pricing.”

This is just the beginning for cold-storage investment activity.A recent report from CBRE forecasted the need for 35 million squarefeet of cold storage facilities nationwide. “We feel there will becontinued growth in this segment as our region is at under-capacityin terms of volume in comparison to other parts of the country,”says Evans. “Plus, forecasts show continued consumer demand forperishable products resulting in need for more last mile facilities to be built or converted.”