Cummins Engine cranks its motor in Cincinnati Columbus, Ind.-based Cummins Engine Co. has leased 330,000 sq. ft. at Building A in the Park West International industrial park in Cincinnati. Tenn.-based American Real Estate Holdings owns Building A, which Cummins will use as a distribution center for Fleetguard/Nelson parts. Atlanta-based Industrial Developments International (IDI), which developed the 400-acre, 3.4 million sq. ft. Park West park, represented American Real Estate in the transaction, while Philadelphia-based Binswanger/CBB represented the tenant.
In other Midwest industrial news, Aurora, Ill.-based Lyon Workspace Products, a national distributor of industrial work place products, has leased 277,527 sq. ft. at Windham Industrial Center V, a 450,000 sq. ft. cross-deck facility under construction in Romeoville, Ill. AMLI Commercial Properties Trust, based in Itasca, Ill., is the developer of the project.
Lyon, which plans to begin occupancy this month and is the first tenant of the facility, will house its sales/marketing, customer service and distribution divisions at the center. The facility is located in Windham Lakes Business Park, AMLI's 500-acre corporate business park.
Duke-Weeks, J.P. Morgan hook up for a Texas two-step Duke-Weeks Realty Corp., based in Indianapolis, and New York-based J.P. Morgan have formed a joint venture that will combine the two companies' Dallas-area industrial portfolios, which are approximately 5 million sq. ft. total. Under the terms of the partnership, valued at more than $200 million, Duke-Weeks will lease and manage the properties, as well as oversee nearly 200 acres of undeveloped land.
J.P. Morgan contributed 15 buildings, which total 2.1 million sq. ft. and are 99% leased, to the venture. The contributions include properties and land in Great Southwest Business Park in Grand Prairie; Trinity Mills Business Park in Carrollton; and Valwood Park in Farmers Branch. Before the deal, Duke-Weeks owned or managed more than 2.6 million sq. ft. of industrial properties in Dallas, a portfolio that was 98.5% leased at the time of the deal.
Meanwhile, Dallas-based Renner Plaza Properties has purchased six industrial/tech properties from Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. Located in Richardson, Texas, the properties total 221,000 sq. ft. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. represented the seller.
The properties include Campbell Square I, Collins Boulevard Service Center, Park East Service Center and Corporate Tech Center III. The facilities, which are all located near Richardson's Technology Corridor, were built in the early 1980s and are leased to several technology companies.
The winter season brings industrial deals to California Kirkland, W. Va.-based Van Waters and Rogers (VW&R), a chemical distributor, has opened its $45 million chemical distribution center in City of Commerce, Calif., six miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The 22-acre property, which includes both a 256,000 sq. ft. warehouse/distribution facility and a two-story, 42,000 sq. ft. administrative building, was once the site of Vail Field, where Western Airlines began commercial air service from California 75 years ago. Whittier, Calif.-based Oltmans Construction Co. built the facility, which also includes more than 50,000 sq. ft. of tank farms.
In other metropolitan Los Angeles news, Vernon, Calif.-based Four Seasons General Merchandising Inc., an import/export organization, has leased 307,500 sq. ft. of warehouse and distribution space at the Los Angeles Regional Distribution Center, located in Irwindale, Calif. The total value of the five-year lease is more than $6 million. Boston-based TA Associates Realty and San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based Wohl Property Group are the landlords of the facility.
The Los Angeles Regional Distribution Center contains 650,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and office space. The center features 38' ceiling clearance, cross loading and an adjacent truck maintenance facility.
Not all the California action is limited to Los Angeles. Pleasanton, Calif.-based Opus West Corp. has purchased 20 acres to build a six-building, 320,000 sq. ft. industrial complex. Construction of the facility will begin in April, with completion of the first phase slated for December 2001.
Cammeby's buys a bundle on Long Island New York-based Cammeby's International has purchased a 35-property, 3.4 million sq. ft. portfolio of office and industrial properties on Long Island, N.Y. Chicago-based First Industrial Real Estate Trust Inc. was the seller. New York-based Granite Partners was the exclusive advisor to First Industrial.
The portfolio includes Equi Park in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., a 653,000 sq. ft. office and industrial park. Seventeen industrial properties account for 44.5% of the porfolio's total square footage, 12 flex properties for 34.5% and six office/R&D facilities for 21%.