Hillwood and Clarion JV to Develop Amazon Fulfillment Center

Hillwood and Clarion Partners announced this week that it will partner in a joint venture to develop a 950,000 square foot facility as part of the AllianceCalifornia project that will serve as a fulfillment center for Amazon once completed later this year. The development in San Bernardino, California will be located on Central Avenue, east of Tippecanoe Avenue. Hillwood will serve as the developer for the project, while the JV will serve as the landlord for the facility, leasing space to Golden State FC LLC once the building is complete. Golden State will then operate the fulfillment center for Amazon. Meanwhile, USAA Real Estate Co. will develop a fulfillment center of about 1 million square feet in Patterson, a city along Interstate 5 in the Modesto metro area according to a CoStar report.

"We've been planning to develop this property for some time, and we're thrilled that Amazon will be moving in after the facility is completed," said John Magness, Senior Vice President, Hillwood and leader of Hillwood's Inland Empire office. "We appreciate all the support from the community, and we look forward to Amazon starting operations in San Bernardino."

"We are excited to be a part of this project and we look forward to a long and successful relationship with Amazon and the community," said Stacey Magee, Senior Vice President/Regional Manager for Clarion Partners.

"We appreciate Hillwood and Clarion's ongoing work and thank Governor Brown and state and local officials for their support, which will allow us to create more than 1,000 full time jobs with benefits in San Bernardino when the facility begins shipping to customers," said Dave Clark, Amazon vice president, global customer fulfillment.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Brookfield, Hillwood Form $1B Industrial JV

Brookfield Asset Management announced this week that it had formed a joint venture with Hillwood to acquire, develop and manage industrial property, principally large warehouses, across the United States. With an equity commitment of $400 million, the partnership is expected to deploy up to $1 billion within the first three years.

"The partnership between Brookfield and Hillwood is not only the right fit, it’s happening at the right time," said Ross Perot, Jr., Chairman, Hillwood. "Industrial development slowed during the downturn due to a lack of equity and debt. Given the liquidity and resources supporting our investment, our joint venture is well-positioned to benefit from renewed demand for industrial space which will increase as the economy continues to show signs of improvement."

Overall, the fund is targeting returns in the 13 percent to 16 percent range reported the National Real Estate Investor. The average investment size will be between $20 million and $60 million. And David Arthur, Managing Partner at Brookfield Asset Management, expects the fund will hold assets three to five years after repositioning them.

"As long-term, value-oriented real estate investors, we believe this is an excellent time to selectively build a portfolio of high-quality industrial properties, and we look forward to expanding our relationship with Hillwood," said Arthur. "This initiative expands the scope of our real estate platform in an exciting asset class, strengthening our global property operations in line with the expected launch later this year of our flagship property vehicle, Brookfield Property Partners."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.