BPG Buys, Leases Back 700,000-SF Industrial Building

LANSDALE, PA-BPG Properties Ltd., the operating affiliate of Philadelphia-based Berwind Property Group, acquired a 700,000-sf manufacturing facility from Visteon Systems. Visteon is leasing back all of the space.

Terms of the transaction were undisclosed. On the basis of another recent industrial property sale in Montgomery County for approximately $39 per sf, speaking on condition of anonymity, an industrial specialist in the area tells GlobeSt.com this sale probably commanded between $30 per sf and $35 per sf, which would put BPG's price tag at between $21 million and $24.5 million. "While the value of the acreage would merit a premium," the source reasons, "the stabile, credit-worthy tenant tightens negotiations." A BPG spokesperson declined to confirm or deny this estimate.

Neither would the spokesperson disclose Visteon's rental rate. The asking rental rate for manufacturing space in the county averages $3.43 per sf, according to a third quarter report from Cushman & Wakefield.

The plant is located a 2750 Morris Rd. on an 87-acre parcel with extensive frontage along the northeast extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike about three miles from the Lansdale interchange. Visteon, formerly a part of Ford Motor Co., constructed the plant in 1990.

"BPG acquired the property in part to accommodate the real estate requirements of related Berwind Group firms," according to a statement from BPG. The company's spokesperson declined to delineate any of BPG's specific plans for the asset or the land.

The BPG portfolio contains more than 20 million sf of office, retail, student housing, hotel and industrial properties and approximately 22,000 residential multifamily units in more than 80 US communities. Visteon, a manufacturer of electronics to the automotive aftermarket, has headquarters in Van Buren Township, MI; Kerpen, Germany; and Shanghai and operates more than 170 facilities in 24 countries.