Cobalt Buys 382,000-SF Industrial Complex

BLACKWOOD, NJ-Cobalt Capital Partners has added to its Metro Philadelphia presence with the acquisition of Freeway Industrial Center here. The acquisition consists of three warehouse buildings totaling 381,500 sf at 100 and 200 Freeway Dr. and 500 University Court. The property was 66% leased at the time of sale to the Irving, TX-based Cobalt, with a tenant roster that includes John Jeffries Inc., Triangle Tube, SPC Pools and Air Trax.

The seller was the Bridgeport-based Pureland Group, represented by lead brokers Michael Hines, Michael Blunt and Bill Goodwin, along with Robert Fahey, Lizann McGowan and Douglas Joseph, all of CB Richard Ellis' Investment Property Group in Philadelphia. The sale price was not disclosed, but sources put the number in the $20-million range.

"This was a good transaction for both parties," says Hines, an executive vice president with CBRE. "Geographically, these assets were slightly outside of the Pureland Group's core holdings," which consist primarily of the 3,000-acre Pureland Industrial Park, in and around Bridgeport. It is said to be the largest industrial park on the East Coast.

"For the buyer, Cobalt Capital, it fits exactly as to what they are trying to acquire," Hines says. "They're looking for smaller-bay distribution buildings located in the Greater Philadelphia area, particularly the Southern New Jersey portion of the market."

For the Pureland Cos., which consists of Center Square Real Estate Development Co. and Center Square Builders, the three buildings just sold were part of a portfolio listed with CBRE a year ago. The portfolio, which consisted of 11 buildings totaling nearly 900,000 sf, was listed with no asking price.

The sale still leaves Pureland with substantial holdings in the South Jersey marketplace. Since it was founded in 1975, the company had developed more than 15 million sf of warehouse, light industrial, office, hotel and retail properties.