AMB Buys 23-Building Beacon Centre from Duke-Weeks for $160.7 Mil

MIAMI-AMB Property Corp., through its AMB Property LP arm, has added a major Miami industrial center to its assets roll with the acquisition of the 23-building, 2.2-million-sf Beacon Center for $160.7 million or $73 per sf. AMB is paying Duke-Weeks Realty Corp. of Indianapolis, IN $87.95 million in cash and $72.65 in assumed debt. Five ground leases are part of the transaction.

Beacon Centre’s largest tenant is Tech Data with 224,000 sf. Other tenants are DHL, Telegis, Commonwealth Distributors, Geologistics, Acer and Kuehne & Nagel. About 90% of the complex is bulk warehouse space. The remainder is office and retail. Warehouse space averages $7 per sf to $8 per sf.

The Beacon Centre purchase gives AMB four million square feet of industrial space in the west airport submarket here, according to AMB asset manager Dave Buxbaum based in Boston. “The strategy is to own real estate on or near the airport.” Buxbaum says. “Miami International Airport is a very important player in the global air freight market.”

ther AMB properties are Miami Airport Business Center, purchased in August of 1999, and Bear Center, Blue Lagoon and Beacon Industrial Park, purchased in mid 1990. Coral Gables, FL-based Codina Group will lease and manage Beacon Centre. As of Sept. 30, AMB owned, managed and held renovation and development projects totaling 87 million sf and 946 buildings in 25 metro markets.

AMB is paying fourth-quarter dividends of 37 cents per share for common stock on Dec. 22 to shareholders of record on Dec. 1.