Exeter Buys Chicago Area Industrial Portfolio

Avison Young, the Toronto-based commercial real estate services firm, has sold a 900,000-square-foot portfolio in the Chicago industrial market to Exeter Property Group for an undisclosed sum. The four-building industrial portfolio located around the perimeter of Chicago was sold by an Avison Young fund managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Erik Foster and Mike Wilson of Avison Young's national industrial capital markets group handled the transaction, and Foster told GlobeSt.com that the net lease purchase is part of a larger trend.

"We've seen a lot of buyers that need higher returns making purchases in class B submarkets within core markets like Chicago," said Foster. Although each of these properties is relatively new and fully-leased to strong credit tenants, they are located in suburban Monee and Batavia, and in Portage, IN, all part of the greater Chicago market but outside the truly core submarkets like I-55.

The properties in the portfolio include:

• A 246,300-square-foot building at 25777 S. Cleveland Ave. in Monee, IL in the greater Chicago market. The tenant is Liberty Furniture, a privately owned furniture manufacturer with a national distribution base. Built in 2001, the building has 30-foot ceiling heights.
• A 239,700-square-foot facility at 25975 S. Cleveland Ave. in Monee, IL, in the greater Chicago market. DIY Group, a packaging, warehouse and distribution services company, leases 100 percent of the space, built in 2005. The building has 30-foot ceiling heights.
• A 251,465-square-foot building at 1160 Pierson Dr., in Batavia, IL, in the greater Chicago market. The space is leased by DS Containers (193,465 SF), a consumer packaging company, and Superior Health Linens (58,000 SF), a healthcare supply company. Built in 2006, the building has 30-foot ceiling heights.
• A 157,120-square-foot building at 5900 Carlson Ave. in Portage, IN, in Northwest Indiana, considered part of the greater Chicago market. The building was built in 1995, has 29-foot ceiling heights and is leased to Manufacturing Solutions. The tenant is a leading manufacturing and engineering company.

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