Duke Closes $195M Deal for 5M-SF Bulk Industrial Portfolio

SAVANNAH, GA-Duke Realty Corp. has become the largest industrial property owner in the Savannah area with the acquisition of $194.6-million, 5.1-million-sf bulk industrial portfolio from local developer Wrenn Blalock and his partners. The deal, which closed Jan. 11, also includes 18 buildings and a 9.4-acre tract.

The Indianapolis-based developer also has an option to buy about four million sf of future buildings on 300 acres owned by Blalock's group. The acquisitions would be used by Duke for future industrial and distribution development projects.

Sixteen of the buildings are three miles from the Port Of Savannah, considered to be the fastest growing port in the US for the past 12 years, says Duke senior vice president Sam O'Briant. He says Blalock and his associates "have done a tremendous job in developing the portfolio over the last few years. They have controlled the land and worked with the distribution companies to serve this growing market before the entrance of national developers."

O'Briant adds that "through this transaction, we can achieve key objectives for both parties, offering the seller significant liquidity and diversification, while Duke invests in a large, well-located, fully leased portfolio of properties." He tells GlobeSt.com the transaction "further strengthens Savannah's position as an emerging national distribution hub."

O'Briant says the 5.1-million-sf portfolio is 100% leased. The average building size is 285,000 sf and the average age of the buildings is 3.5 years. Most of the leases are long term with the weighted average lease maturity at 7.5 years. Savannah-based American Port Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Schneider National, is the portfolio's largest tenant, occupying a total 1.7 million sf.

O'Briant says the two buildings Duke acquired outside of the Port of Savannah area include a 746,000-sf distribution center in Rincon, which is leased to Georgia Pacific and adjacent to one of the company's largest paper plants; and an 80,000-sf building in Charleston, SC, near the Port of Charleston's growing Wando Welch Terminal.