Cofe Properties bought a fully leased industrial portfolio in the Sunrise Commerce Park for $42.3 million.
A trust led by Leonard Edelman sold the seven-building portfolio to Coral Gables-based Cofe in two deals, records show. Cofe’s affiliate took out a $35.9 million acquisition loan from Ocean Bank.
In the biggest of the two purchases, Cofe bought the properties at 5401-5405 Northwest 102nd Avenue, as well as at 10791-10795 and 10551-10661 Northwest 53rd Street for $31.3 million.
The two buildings at 5401 and 5405 total 95,995 square feet on 5.7 acres, property records show. The L-shaped building at 10551-10661 is 54,298 square feet on 3.4 acres, and the two buildings at 10791-10795 total 26,545 square feet on 1.7 acres.
In the smaller deal, Cofe paid $11 million for the two buildings at 10700-10798 Northwest 53rd Street, records show. They total 48,493 square feet on 3.4 acres.
Three of the properties are adjacent to each other, and the fourth is a short walking distance away. This is the first time they have traded since the seller developed them at various times from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, property records show.
The Sunrise Commerce Park spans 550 acres and consists mainly of industrial facilities and offices, according to the city of Sunrise’s website.
The properties Cofe purchased are all small-bay industrial buildings, which generally service small business owners such as e-commerce retailers, plumbers and carpenters. Tenants at the portfolio include flooring contractor Sawgrass Floors, cosmetics manufacturer Diamond Cosmetics, Broward Auto Diagnostics & Repair and shipping company Akcesoriacorp.
“We are seeing a huge surge in investor interest for light industrial opportunities, especially in the small bay space,” said Jose Sasson of Axiom Capital Advisors, who represented the buyer in the off-market deal.
Founded in 2002 by Eugenio Cosculluela and Mario Fernandez, Cofe has invested domestically and abroad. From 2002 to 2005, it amassed 1 million square feet of office and industrial properties in South Florida that it later largely sold, according to its website. In 2004, Cofe started GuardeAqui Self Storage in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but Cofe principals sold a controlling interest in the operation in 2011.
Cofe’s South Florida ventures now span various types of commercial real estate. In March, the company sold a Pinecrest office-retail plaza for $32 million.
Cofe also sold four warehouses near Miami International Airport for $25 million in 2019.
Its purchase of industrial space comes as the market has outperformed other asset classes over the past year and a half, partly because of e-commerce growth. Broward County’s industrial vacancy rate fell to 5.6 percent in the third quarter, down from 6.8 percent in the second quarter and 6.6 percent in the third quarter of 2020, according to Colliers.