Oregon’s Largest Single-Phase Spec Industrial Site Sells for $93M
Vista offered Black Creek Group the rare opportunity to invest in a large newly built industrial project in the closely held Portland market, along with in-place income and the ability to add near-term value via lease-up.
GRESHAM, OR—Completed in 2017, Vista Logistics Park is the largest single-phase speculative industrial development project built in Oregon to date. The three-building 733,232-square-foot industrial campus is located in the Northeast Columbia Corridor of Portland, and recently sold for $93.25 million.
A team of CBRE professionals including Paige Morgan (Portland), Brett Hartzell (Seattle), Darla Longo, Eric Cox, Barbara Perrier, Val Achtemeier (Los Angeles) and Rebecca Perlmutter-Finkel (San Francisco) represented the seller, Madison-Specht Vista Logistics LLC, a joint venture between an institutional investor and Portland-based Specht Development. The buyer was Denver-based Black Creek Group.
“Vista offered buyers the rare opportunity to invest in a large, new construction industrial project in the closely held Portland market,” said Morgan. “This is a class-A property in a prime distribution location with excellent access to downtown Portland and the I-84 freeway. The project’s profile offered the buyer significant, in-place income and the ability to add near-term value through lease-up. Vista’s scale and leading-edge building features will continue to attract top-tier tenants for years to come.”
Vista Logistics Park was 73% leased when it was put under contract with Black Creek Group, however, leasing momentum at the property continued throughout the sale process and occupancy stood at 86.5% upon closing. Vista Logistics Park is leased to Medline, Imperial Brown, Samuel Son & Co. and Fully. Capacity Commercial Group served as the leasing agent for the seller.
“Our market continues to see significant growth in e-commerce, and the food and beverage industry,” Morgan tells GlobeSt.com.
Vista Logistics Park consists of three buildings with minimum 30-foot clearances, ESFR, LED lighting, generous 190 to 215-foot truck courts, ample loading with 158 dock doors, and abundant car and trailer parking. Additionally, building C features cross-dock loading, a 7-inch reinforced concrete floor slab and 70 trailer stalls. Located at 32-198 SE 223rd Ave., the industrial park offers visibility with multiple points of ingress and egress on SE 223rd Avenue and NE Hood Street.
After years of built-to-suit projects dominating fundamentals, market development has made way for tenant expansion and growth with new speculative development options and projects under construction throughout the area, according to CBRE research. Though some fundamentals slowed in third quarter 2019, location and neighborhoods remained the driving factor in time-to-lease with active tenants in the market willing to wait for prime space, says CBRE.
Job growth remains a hot topic for the Portland metro. The employment outlook through 2029 remains higher than the national average. During the past five years, total metro employment has increased at an annual rate of 2.6%, compared to 1.8% nationally. Year-over-year employment growth has been led by construction, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Portland’s manufacturing workforce has increased 5% above pre-recession levels. This compares well with the national rate, which remains 5% below prerecession. The market’s manufacturing diversity continues to be a key driver to this trend and will aid in long-term sustainability for the sector, according to the CBRE report.