USAA Real Estate Buys 2.8M-Square-Foot Industrial Portfolio

(Save the date: RealShare Industrial 2012 comes to The Bankers Club, Miami, December 5 - 6.)

ATLANTA—A USAA Real Estate Co. affiliate snapped up an industrial portfolio spanning three class A bulk distribution warehouses. All three buildings are located in Atlanta’s largest industrial submarkets in Atlanta and benefit from proximity to the Port of Savannah. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Home Depot, along with Owens Corning Insulating Systems and PETCO Animal Supplies Store, fully occupy the 2.8 million-square-foot industrial portfolio. All three industrial buildings use modern cross-dock distribution with ESFR sprinklers, T-5 lighting and truck courts and storage.

"The Atlanta inndustrial portfolio offers a unique opportunity to acquire three premier quality distribution facilities within a core inland port market," USAA chairman and CEO Pat Duncan said in a statement. "The portfolio complements USAA's existing portfolio of industrial assets in Atlanta."

Located in Braselton, GA, the PETCO Distribution Center totals 506,200 square feet. From Atlanta’s 1-85 Northeast submarket, the Braselton industrial center serves 10 states as the pet specialty retailer's Southeast distribution hub.

Home Depot's Distribution Center in McDonough, GA totals 1.2 million square feet. The Owens Corning Distribution Center, with more than 1 million square feet, is located next to the company's 500,000-square foot manufacturing plant in Fairburn, GA.

According to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest Atlanta Industrial Snapshot, Savannah Port tonnage is up and the industrial market is showing signs of improvement. Overall industrial vacancy continued to decline, sitting at 9.8% at the end of the second quarter. Atlanta’s industrial market posted 1.7 million square feet of positive absorption and investor sales activity picked up significantly.

“Despite continued uncertainty in the national economy, forecasts suggest slow, steady employment growth throughout the remainder of 2012,” the report says. “In the near-term, Atlanta’s industrial market should continue to show signs of overall improvement through the end of 2012 as the national economy gains momentum on the path to recovery.”