Sale of Mega-Manufacturing Property Bucks Trends
The sale of 9700 W. Gulf Bank is somewhat rare, given oil prices have been suppressed since late 2014 and activity on similar properties has been limited, but it was last year’s third-largest manufacturing sale by square footage.
HOUSTON—A 245,319-square-foot manufacturing building located in Brookhollow West Business Park recorded a significant milestone. The sale of 9700 W. Gulf Bank Rd. was last year’s third-largest manufacturing sale by square footage.
Earhart Chenault LLC acquired the property for an undisclosed amount although the listing price was $12 million. The seller was NIP Owner I LLC. Transwestern Commercial Services managing director Nick Peterson and executive managing director John Ferruzzo represented the seller.
“This was a rare opportunity for the buyer to acquire a large, fully air-conditioned manufacturing property in the heart of Northwest Houston,” said Peterson. “The sale included an additional 8.6 acres to accommodate future expansion.”
The freestanding building has a two-story 48,000-square-foot office area, 11 overhead cranes, heavy electrical service (three phase/480 volts/8,500 amps), 24- to 28-foot clear height and 14 loading doors (dock and grade level).
Vacancy for the manufacturing sector remained the lowest of all property types, according to Transwestern’s fourth quarter industrial report. It ended the year at 2.3% for both direct vacancy and overall vacancy, down from 2.4% and 2.6% over the quarter, respectively. Direct vacancy for warehouse/distribution space increased to 6.7% from a rate of 6.2% last quarter, while overall vacancy reached 7% from 6.7% in the third quarter.
“We are happy to see the sale of a large manufacturing property like 9700 W. Gulf Bank, given oil prices have been suppressed since late 2014 and activity on properties like this has been limited,” Peterson tells GlobeSt.com.
Stephen Kuper and Preston Yaggi of Lee & Associates represented the buyer.