The Blackstone Group is reportedly negotiating another deal to expand its industrial property portfolio, after inking a nearly $19 billion deal for warehouse space earlier this year.
The mega landlord will acquire 11 warehouse properties near John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to Crain’s. It’s part of a wider deal with TA Realty, a real estate investment management firm based in Boston, for industrial buildings across the country.
The deal highlights the growing interest in industrial space in New York, as the e-commerce and logistics sectors continue to grow. Amazon is looking to rent as much as 1 million square feet of industrial space in Brooklyn, and is also looking at space at RXR Realty and LBA Logistics’ new vertical warehouse development in Queens.
No stranger to industrial deals, Blackstone agreed to purchase a portfolio of warehouses from the Singapore company, GLP, earlier this year. Valued at $18.7 billion, the deal was a major bet for the company, and one of the largest deals in industrial real-estate history. (As of mid-July, before the deal closed, Blackstone was already negotiating to sell off pieces of the portfolio.)
In addition, Blackstone previously dropped $1.8 billion for Canyon Industrial Portfolio’s last-mile properties in Chicago, Dallas and Baltimore, and $2.6 billion for Canada’s Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust.
The 11 warehouse properties it is set to acquire in the latest deal reportedly vary in size from about 6,000 square feet to up to 100,000 square feet.
The value of the deal has not been reported. Both Blackstone and TA Realty did not respond to requests for comment.
[Crain’s] — Sylvia Varnham O’Regan