By Meghan Hall
In a signifier of strength in the Puget Sound market, a global investment firm has snapped up a new industrial development in Everett. KKR has purchased the Glacier Peak at Riverside Business Park for $45.2 million. The transaction closed on October 9th, but was only recently just recorded. Public documents indicate that the seller was Panattoni Development Company, one of the largest privately held, full service real estate development companies in the world.
The property, located at 600-700 Riverside Road, was developed and recently completed by Panattoni. In all, the project totals 204,498 square feet. 52,375 square feet is currently available for lease, and that square footage can be demised into 12,000 square feet, per the development’s website.
Building amenities include nine dock-high doors and a drive-in door, build-to-suit setting and 32-foot clear heights. The property is located just adjacent to both FedEx and Zodiac Aerospace facilities along the Snohomish River and is 11 miles from the new passenger airport terminal. Washington Real Estate Advisors and JLL have been marketing the property for both lease and sale.
Since its inception, Panattoni has developed more than 250 million square feet of space, including 80 million square feet of build-to-suit projects. Panattoni has also been active throughout the region, and in June, the firm broke ground on an 800,000 square foot complex in Kent. Panattoni is developing the property along with Link Industrial Properties, a Blackstone affiliate.
KKR’s reach is equally impressive with its global presence. The firm invests in not just real estate, but equity, energy, infrastructure and hedge funds. As of June 2020, the firm had $222 billion in assets under management and had $20.9 billion invested in or committed to its own funds and portfolio companies.
The Puget Sound industrial market has faired relatively well during 2020 when compared to other asset classes, although the sector has not gone without its own hiccups. According to a third quarter report released by Colliers International, net absorption—while still positive—was down to 285,000 square feet. Pierce and Thurston counties absorbed 942,000 square feet, while the remaining counties saw absorption of 657,000 square feet. The quarter was also characterized by several large give-backs including by Volvo Logistics and Alphabroder. Both companies gave up more than 100,000 square feet of space each. Rents and vacancy may also be impacted in the future, notes Colliers, as 6.2 million square feet of industrial is currently in the development pipeline. As a result, vacancy may rise due to slower absorption, and rates could moderate.
