$48M Wins 1M-SF Industrial Portfolio

A one-month marketing generated 25 offers for a package with five buildings in CentrePort Business Park and three in Valwood Industrial Park, says Jack Crews, senior vice president and director of investment sales for Trammell Crow Co. in Dallas. He tells GlobeSt.com that the San Francisco-based Rreef was the top bidder for a now 86%-leased portfolio with 14 tenants, a roster with few immediate lease rolls and "good step-ups in the rent" on the horizon.

The Estate of James Campbell, a 101-year-old private trust, owned the debt-free properties for five years. The plan is to reinvest the capital into markets where it has a higher concentration, according to Crews. "As a buyer, they saw the market was hungry for this kind of product," he explains of the decision to hawk a 20%-empty package with a no-minimum ask.

When the listing hit the streets, the 1980s-era package was 80% leased, but a few deals were hooked right at closing to push occupancy to 86%. The net-lease roster includes names like Home Depot Inc., Adam's Laboratories Inc., Amcor Pet Packaging, USF Processors Inc., American Airlines and CSC Communications Inc.

Brad Gries, Rreef's vice president, says the properties were bought at below replacement cost. That and their locations in two strong submarkets plus the timing in the cycle of Dallas/Fort Worth's industrial sector to push hard for the win. Rreef will manage the holdings, but the decision's still outstanding on the leasing assignment although it appears Trammell Crow Co. could hold onto the contract.

Gries says some leases roll this year, but not enough to raise any concerns. The package has just three vacancies. "It's a core buy for us," he says, noting the immediate plan is to hold rates steady and move up when the market does. Current rents run from slightly below $3 per sf to $4 per sf.

The five CentrePort buildings are the 269,388-sf Fleetwood Distribution Center at 4100-4324 Fleetwood Dr.; 238,922-sf Empire Distribution Center at 4125-4332 Empire Rd.; 212,088-sf Centreport 28 at 14801 Sovereign Rd.; 101,491-sf Centreport 2 at 4201-4205 Diplomacy Rd.; and 65,814-sf Centreport 18 at 4395 Diplomacy Rd.

In Valwood, the buildings are the 199,868-sf Valwood 25 at 13755 Diplomat Dr.; 131,840-sf Valwood 3 at 1270 Champion Circle; and 122,426-sf Valwood 19 at 13801-13821 Diplomat Dr.