Investment giant The Blackstone Group Inc. bought a big industrial property west of Miami International Airport for $56 million, highlighting the healthy appetite in the sector from institutional investors.

An affiliate of New York-based Blackstone bought the 14-acre Airport Trade Center from seller Airport Trade Center LLC on Aug. 12, according to Miami-Dade County deed records.

The seller is affiliated with Miami Beach-based commercial real estate investment firm Elysee Investments, led by CEO Haim Yehezkel, according to state Division of Corporations records.

The Airport Trade Center is southeast of the Palmetto Expressway and Northwest 36th Street at 3208 and 3108 NW 72nd Ave. The property is a short drive from the airport and has easy access to the Palmetto and Dolphin expressways.

The trade center has three buildings totaling 367,848 square feet, although this square footage provided by the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser's office might include outdoor areas not under air conditioning. The purchase price breaks down to $152 per square foot.

The transaction adds to a deluge of institutional investment in South Florida industrial real estate thanks to strong fundamentals.

Hefty demand driven in part by e-commerce is pushing up rents and triggering more development. Nearly 1 million square feet of new construction was finished in Miami-Dade over the past year, yet the vacancy rate remained low at 3.9%, according to a Cushman & Wakefield second quarter report.

The race to bag industrial properties has pushed institutional investors to look beyond the best, newly finished industrial parks to consider older assets. The Airport Trade Center built in 1972 fits into the older category.

This is at least the second major regional real estate investment by Blackstone this year. In May, Blackstone paid $209 million for two garden-style apartment communities, another booming south Florida sector.

The communities developed by The Related Group are Doral View in the 900 block of Northwest 97th Ave. and the next-door Town Fontainebleau Lakes in the 1000 block of Northwest 87th Ave., both south of Doral.

On the other hand, Blackstone disposed of two major retail holdings, a market that boasts healthy fundamentals but is responding to e-commerce growth and a change in shopping attitudes.

Blackstone affiliate ShopCore Properties sold Doral Plaza for $70 million to Publix and Southern Palm Crossing in Royal Palm Beach for $96.75 million to InvenTrust Properties Corp.

Blackstone, which invests on behalf of institutions, retirement systems and individuals, has $545 billion of assets under management June 30, according to its website.

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Blackstone Invests in Miami Industrial Market With $56M Airport Trade Center Buy

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