Neighbor Buys 207,045-SF Warehouse

HOUSTON-A California investment group has purchased its neighbor in the Turning Basin Industrial District in a deal for a 207,045-sf warehouse with a full-building tenant waiting in the wings.

The Tuffli Co. acquired 8815 Mississippi St., near the Port of Houston, from Metals USA Carbon Flat Rolled Inc. John Littman of the Houston office of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. tells GlobeSt.com that the property was sold through a bid process that attracted at least one other competitor for the no-minimum offering. It was under contract for about four months before it closed, he says.

Tuffli’s newest purchase is situated on about nine acres. Metals USA labeled the site surplus after some internal shifts that affected the building’s primary user, the flat-rolled division, which used the property right up until practically closing day, according to Littman. A single user has been lined up for the crane-served building, but the details of that leg of the deal aren’t available, for now.

Littman says the deal delivered a well-built manufacturing facility that represents an investment opportunity with a good return for the buyer. The selling price isn’t being made public, but the property’s 2002 assessment is slightly more than $3 million, Harris County Appraisal District records show.

The Rolling Hill Estates, CA-based Tuffli owns several industrial properties in Houston, particularly near the port and Bayport North Industrial Park. The newest acquisition abuts Tuffli’s 8825 Mississippi St., an 86,150-sf warehouse. Littman, B. Kelley Parker and H. Frank Stanley, also in the Houston office of Cushman & Wakefield, represented buyer and seller in this transaction.