By Jon Peterson
Oak Brook, Ill.-based CenterPoint Properties has paid $21.9 million to acquire the 152,155 square foot industrial property located at 3702 C Street Northeast in Auburn, according to sources aware of the transaction.
CenterPoint would not comment on the acquisition price on the property. The seller of the property was a private ownership group. Both the buyer and seller were represented in the transaction by the Seattle office of Kidder Mathews. The listing agents were Matt Wood, Andy Miller and Todd Battison.
“This area is a growth market in our opinion. It currently has a very diverse economy and is not just dependent on one or two companies.”
CenterPoint is a big believer in the Seattle market for industrial assets. “This area is a growth market in our opinion. It currently has a very diverse economy and is not just dependent on one or two companies. It has a strength of the Port of Tacoma, which is important for industrial properties. The market is land constrained, but continues to growth south,” said Jim Clewlow, chief investment officer for CenterPoint.
The property that was bought is located on 15 acres of land. The building is now 100 percent leased to FedEx Ground on a long-term lease. The tenant uses this location as one of its primary distribution and sorting facilities in Western Washington. This site is around six miles from an Amazon Fulfillment Center. This location will allow the tenant to reach 10.7 million people in one day and 44 million people in two-day deliveries.
The property was originally built as a build-to-suit for FedEx Ground in 2000. The property was then expanded in 2007. Part of the purchase also included the acquisition of 1.49 acres of land that the new owners plan to use for additional parking.
This investment represents the latest activity by CenterPoint in the greater Seattle market. Over the last three years the company has now acquired a total of 9 properties in the Kent Valley region. CenterPoint is now owned 100 percent by the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). The company focuses on the development, acquisition and management of industrial property and transportation infrastructure that enhances business and government supply chain efficiency. Its portfolio totals 53.7 million square feet of existing properties and 3,171 acres of land under development in the company’s integrated intermodal industrial parks.
The Auburn market for warehouse/distribution assets remains very tight. According to the fourth quarter 2015 report from JLL, the total vacancy in the market is 3.1 percent. The inventory in this market totals 16.7 million square feet.
