After a slow winter for industrial real estate investment sales, the local market picked up in April in a big way.
A total of $160 million was spent on the top five priciest industrial sales in April, far eclipsing the nearly $24 million spent on March’s biggest industrial sales.
Leading the way was Scannell Properties’ sale of a suburban FedEx distribution center for $84.3 million, which is one of the biggest industrial deals of the year. A major New York investment firm’s purchase of a local meat processing plant was the second biggest industrial deal of the month.
March’s investment activity shows the strength of the local industrial market, which is seeing record demand and development.
All transaction information comes from the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.
5959 Howard Street, Niles | $84.3 million
Indianapolis-based Scannell Properties sold this 34-acre FedEx distribution center to Global Securitization Services, an administrator of special purpose entities that likely represents the true buyer. Scannell developed the 300,000-square-foot logistics center for FedEx in 2014 for a reported $30 million. The buyer secured a $46.5 million acquisition loan for the deal from Morgan Stanley.
2. 7351 South 78th Avenue, Bridgeview | $33.9 million
New York-based private equity firm Investcorp bought the Stampede Meat facility in south suburban Bridgeview for just under $33.9 million. Selling the facility was Link Industrial, a REIT controlled by the Blackstone Group. The 150,000-square-foot Stampede Meat plant includes a cold storage facility and on-site distribution center.
3. 5656 South Major Avenue | $22 million
This Southwest Side pork-processing plant was bought by Aurora-based OSI Group, which picked up the facility as part of its acquisition of its former owner, Rose Packing Company. The 200,000-square-foot plant produces a variety of pork products and employs more than 700, according to OSI.
4. 2000 Arthur Avenue, Elk Grove Village | $14 million
WPT Industrial REIT paid just over $14 million for this distribution center in one of the hottest industrial submarkets in the area. It was acquired as part of a $226 million portfolio deal that included 12 other industrial buildings, three of which are also in the Chicago area. WPT recorded the biggest industrial sale of March, paying $7.5 million for another Elk Grove Village property. Selling the facility was the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.
5. 4801 South California Avenue | $6.4 million
Los Angeles-based Hackman Capital Partners bought this South Side warehouse for just under $6.4 million. Buying the facility was an LLC tied to Chicago investor Xiao Mei Dong. The facility was built in 1963 and has 188,000 square feet of rentable space.