Blackstone Entity Acquires Tampa Distribution Center for $69M

TAMPA, FL—Link Industrial Properties, Blackstone’s US industrial platform, has acquired a major industrial asset here—the 955,000-square-foot Tampa Distribution Center.

High Street Realty Co. sold the property on Tampa’s Eastside for $69.5 million, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The Cushman & Wakefield investment sales team of vice chairman Mike Davis, executive managing director Rick Brugge and director Rick Colon represented High Street Realty, a Boston-based private equity real estate investment company, in the sale transaction.

The Cushman & Wakefield industrial leasing team of managing director Julia Silva and senior associate Jessica Mizrahi, who assisted in the sale, have been retained to lease the property by the Blackstone entity Link Industrial Properties.

At 1212 N. 50th St., Tampa Distribution Center has an in-fill location at the center of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. The property is located just off the Selmon Expressway and is accessible from several major transportation arteries, including Port of Tampa, Interstate 4, Interstate 75 and Tampa International Airport. The property is also four miles from Downtown Tampa and adjacent to UPS’ Tampa hub. The central location allows for “last-mile” e-commerce delivery to 90% of the MSA’s population, or 2.7 million residents, within 45 minutes, Cushman & Wakefield states.

Tampa Distribution Center consists of six dock-high, front-load and flow-through industrial buildings on 51 acres. Suite sizes range from 2,500 square feet to 90,000 square feet and average 15,000 square feet. The property is currently 94.6% leased, and notable tenants include Lansing Building Products, Consolidated Container Company, Feeding America Tampa Bay, Courier Express, General Insulation Company Inc. and Storopack Inc.

“The market for functional, in-fill multi-tenant industrial assets remains very strong,” says C&W’s Brugge. “These assets tend to perform well over time, and institutional investors have come to value the stability they provide to their portfolios. Tampa Distribution Center is a great example of a property that fits these characteristics.”

Davis adds, “This project’s ability to accommodate small, medium, and large users provides stable cash flow as tenants can expand and contract within the park. Further, high barriers to entry and a lack of industrial sites for development in the Eastside submarket will help position Tampa Distribution Center for future rent growth.”