Cole Makes Largest Industrial Deal in Tampa Bay

Cole Office & Industrial REIT (CCIT II), Inc., a Phoenix-based public, non-listed REIT formed in 2013, has purchased a 1.1-million-square-foot fulfillment center in Florida for $103.6 million, marking the largest industrial property sale in Tampa Bay history in terms of both size and value, according to Cushman & Wakefield data. The massive fulfillment center at 3350 Laurel Ridge Avenue in Ruskin, Florida was sold by San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate Co., which bought the land in 2013 from Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies U.S. Inc. for $14.63 million to develop the warehouse. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

"The property's state-of-the-art features, outstanding location and limited competition made this an exceptional investment opportunity," said Mike Davis of Cushman & Wakefield, which represented the seller, USAA Real Estate Co. "We believe that it truly is the highest-quality industrial building in Central Florida." in 2013, county commissioners voted to waive half of Amazon’s property tax bill for the first seven years, or about $6.4 million in total, Tampa Bay Times reported.

USAA Real Estate Co., which works with Amazon in developing its distribution centers, signed a long-term lease with the internet giant for the warehouse that's responsible for picking, packing and shipping items for most orders to Florida, and created 2,500 new jobs in Ruskin. Since the Ruskin Amazon facility opened on Sept. 17, 2014, it has more than doubled its workforce, from 1,000 full-time employees to more than 2,500, said Chris Monnot, the general manager. A renovation of the center, which is the size equivalent of more than 28 football fields, was completed in October 2015. That project added new levels of work space, more conveyors and workstations, and made it larger in terms of cubic square footage than Amazon's other Florida facility in Lakeland.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Industrial Tampa Distribution Center Sold

In what Cushman & Wakefield Research reports as the largest single-site industrial transaction in the Tampa market since January 2010, High Street Realty has purchased the Tampa Distribution Center, a 955,000-square-foot industrial campus at 1212 N. 50th Street in Tampa, FL, for an undisclosed sum (though an industry source pegged the deal at more than $40 million). The seller, MetLife Real Estate Investors, had owned the property since 1974 according to Hillsborough County property records. Cushman executive director Mike Davis, along with senior directors Rick Brugge and Michael Lerner represented MetLife in the transaction. Cushman & Wakefield will also handle leasing and management of the facility.

"This is a prime infill industrial investment with close proximity to the growing urban core making it highly desirable for tenants from both a distribution and employment perspective," Davis told GlobeSt.com. Last week, Davis, Brugge, and Lerner completed the largest overall industrial transaction in the past six quarters when it closed the $103-million sale of a 1.7-million-square foot industrial portfolio in Pinellas County.

Built in 1973, the Tampa Distribution Center sits on a 54-acre parcel lose to the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, I-4 and Adamo Drive. Tampa Distribution Center contains six distribution buildings with dock-high, tilt-wall construction. The center was 82% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including Lansing Building Products, Consolidated Container, Motion Industries, Ricoh and Brighton Best.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Tampa City Center Sold for $128M

Cushman & Wakefield announced this week that it had arranged to sale of Tampa City Center for $128,125,000 in what brokers call the largest transaction in the area in recent memory. The building was sold by One Tampa City Center LLC, a joint venture between Carval Investors of Minneapolis and Mainstreet Capital Partners of Fort Lauderdale, and purchased by Alliance Partners of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the East Coast operating arm of Hawaii-based Shidler Group. The transaction was managed by Cushman & Wakefield Executive Director Mike Davis, Director Rick Brugge, Executive Director David Meline, and Senior Director Michael Lerner.

"City Center is one of Tampa's most prestigious office properties, and it delivers unparalleled comfort, convenience and service in the heart of downtown Tampa," said Mike Davis, Cushman & Wakefield Executive Director, Capital Markets. "This transaction is further proof that Tampa Bay's commercial real estate market has returned to health."

Located at 201 N. Franklin Street, the 38-story office tower containing 749,035 square feet of Class A office space was 88% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including Merrill Lynch, University Club, Bank of Tampa, Florida Bank, Ernst & Young, PNC Bank, Verizon, and Northwest Mutual Insurance Company. The tower was built in 1981, and was the city's tallest building until 1986; in 2013 it won an EARTH Award from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.