Bridge Industrial has secured a cash infusion of $789 million to assemble portfolios in supply-constrained markets.
The Chicago-based firm, led by founder and CEO Steve Poulos, is partnering with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for the push, according to a news release.
CPP Investments holds a 95 percent stake in the venture, and Bridge has 5 percent; Bridge is likely to earn fees for its services as well. This is the second collaboration between them. In 2021, they partnered to buy industrial properties in the Miami and Los Angeles metros. This time, they will target “high-quality assets” in markets where demand for logistics and warehousing is on the rise.
Demand is still strong in the U.S. industrial sector, as retailers compete for faster shipping times in the face of increasingly limited space for warehouse construction.
Bridge has faced its share of challenges. Opposition in Deerfield led it to drop plans to convert the Baxter International office campus into a warehousing complex in 2023. Last year, Deerfield put zoning regulations in place to restrict industrial development.
The firm has stayed very busy in the Miami area with acquisition and development. It bought a warehouse complex in Doral, near Miami International Airport, for $45.4 million ($235 per square foot) in October. It also landed a $53 million construction loan in September to redevelop Ryder System’s former headquarters in Miami-Dade County.
Toronto-based CPP Investments banked $1.07 billion this month, selling its 45 percent stake in 48 logistics warehouses, a portfolio known as the Goodman North American Partnership, to Norges Bank Investment Management.
Forty properties in the portfolio are located in Southern California and the remainder in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Goodman Group, which retains a 55 percent interest, will continue as the asset manager.
— Andrew Terrell
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