Gran Central Corp. sells south Florida properties St. Augustine, Fla.-based Gran Central Corp., the real estate subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries (FECL), has sold a group of south Florida industrial buildings to a pension fund advised by Boston-based TA Associates. The $49.3 million deal consists of 1.2 million sq. ft.
Included in the transaction were McCahill Industrial Park in Miami, an 878,839 sq. ft., five-building industrial facility; and the Lewis Terminals in Riviera Beach, another five-building park totaling 311,412 sq. ft. An additional 42 acres of land at Lewis Terminals - where Gran Central will retain approximately four acres - was included in the transaction.
The St. Joe Co., Jacksonville, Fla., has a 54% equity interest in FECL and managed the sale.
Panattoni rolls into Houston with West Little York With its foray into the Houston industrial market, Sacramento, Calif.-based Panattoni Development Co. is developing West Little York Distribution Center, a 391,630 sq. ft. project on a 24-acre site near the Sam Houston Tollway. West Little York's first phase, a 149,630 sq. ft. tilt-wall building currently under construction, is slated for completion in August. Construction of a second phase - a 242,000 sq. ft. building - will begin once the first phase is leased.
Houston-based Boyd-Page Commercial Real Estate Services will handle leasing for the project.
A native Houstonian, Robert Wheless will serve as managing principal of Panattoni's Houston office after a five-year stint with the company in central California. Panattoni has been looking at Houston for about three years, Wheless says, and recently began Dallas operations through the Panattoni/Hillwood venture.
Strong spring leasing in northern New Jersey for Hartz Mountain If leasing activities of Secaucus, N.J.-based Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. are any indication, New Jersey's industrial markets continued to show strength this spring.
The company leased more than 900,000 sq. ft. in March alone, including a 432,244 sq. ft. lease with Proven Solutions in Newark; a 189,552 sq. ft. lease in North Bergen to Meadowland Apparel; and a 158,739 sq. ft. lease to apparel manufacturer Isaac Hazan.
AP-Adler jumps Florida border into Atlanta market AP-Adler Investment Fund L.P., a fund formed by Miami-based Adler Group and New York-based Apollo Real Estate Advisors, has acquired Watkins/Dawson Centers in Atlanta, the fund's first acquisition outside Florida. Purchased from Atlanta-based Watkins and Dawson Joint Venture, Watkins/Dawson Centers includes more than 438,000 sq. ft. of industrial property and brings the fund's ownership to nearly 4 million sq. ft.
With an occupancy rate of more than 90%, the development consists of 20 single-story buildings located 15 miles from downtown Atlanta.
American Real Estate adds to Ohio portfolio Plymouth Meeting, Penn.-based American Real Estate Investment Corp. has acquired a 515,000 sq. ft. portfolio of distribution facilities in Fremont, Ohio, for $12.7 million from an undisclosed seller. The five buildings are 100% leased under terms averaging more than 12 years, and provide a going-in yield of approximately 11%.
American also signed affirmative agreements with the seller to buy two additional buildings - one in Fremont, one in Bellevue, Ohio - comprising 325,000 sq. ft. for $8.3 million. The company expects to close on the remaining facilities in the third quarter. The company's Ohio portfolio now totals approximately 1.5 million sq. ft.
AStrong spring leasing in northern New Jersey If leasing activities of Secaucus, N.J.-based Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. are any indication, New Jersey's industrial markets continued to show strength this spring.
The company leased more than 900,000 sq. ft. in March alone, including a 432,244 sq. ft. lease with Proven Solutions in Newark; a 189,552 sq. ft. lease in North Bergen to Meadowland Apparel; and a 158,739 sq. ft. lease to apparel manufacturer Isaac Hazan.
SSR Realty closes on suburban Chicago warehouse White Plains, N.Y.-based SSR Realty Advisors Inc. has acquired Carol Point Distribution Center in Carol Stream, Ill., from Denver-based Corum Real Estate Group for $14.2 million. The 328,000 sq. ft. warehouse was purchased in accordance with a third-quarter 1997 pre-sale agreement with Corum, which developed Carol Point. The acquisition was made on behalf of Tower Fund, a diversified, open-end commingled real estate fund managed by SSR Realty.
Carol Point Distribution Center was the last remaining distribution site within the 300-acre Carol Point Business Park. The building was 100% preleased to United Stationer Supply Co., which signed a 10-year triple-net lease.
San Fernando, Calif.-based Pharmavite Corp. has signed a 10-year, $50 million-plus lease for the entire 740,000 sq. ft. at Vista Business Park in Valencia, Calif. The new transaction incorporates Pharmavite's earlier lease for 167,990 sq. ft. at the park.
The nutritional supplement manufacturer will lease two buildings that were recently completed, as well as two other facilities currently under construction. Pharmavite will occupy one building immediately, one in the third quarter of this year and the other two next year, according to David Mgrublian, managing director of Los Angeles-based Investment Development Services, which manages Vista Business Park. Seattle-based Kennedy Associates Real Estate Counsel Inc. (KAREC) owns the park, which was initially a speculative project. The lease is one of the largest non-build-to-suit industrial leases in L.A. County history.