By Meghan Hall
A commercial real estate firm with a specific focus on industrial properties has purchased a SoDo property amidst the asset class’ boom. In a deal that was finalized last week, Los Angeles-based Staley Point Capital acquired 2424 8th Ave. S. for $32 million, or about $379 per square foot. According to public records, the seller of the asset is listed as an entity affiliated with an Idaho-based limited liability company associated with nine separate individuals.
The property totals just under 2.5 acres and is developed with an 84,420 square foot building constructed in 1970, based on King County parcel data. The asset’s current use is listed as “warehouse.”
The property currently serve as a space for Sonepar USA, a family-owned company that specializes in the business-to-business distribution of electrical, industrial and safety products. The company is a part of Sonepar Group, the world’s largest privately-held electrical distributor, according to the organization’s website. The company’s reach spans 48 countries and five continents.
The property is located just off of Interstate 5 and is minutes away from the Duwamish Waterway, Wamu Theater, T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field. Other businesses in the vicinity include Starbucks Reserve, Mercedes-Benz of Seattle, and Epic Antique. Just to the South is Seattle’s growing Industrial District, home to DHL, DCG One, UPS and other major companies.
Staley Point Capital has been in business for about 35 years and currently has around six million square feet of space in its portfolio. Historically, the company has focused specifically on Southern California, and its assets include Magellan Gateway in El Monte, Calif., Commerce Business Center in Commerce, Calif., and Magellan Storage, also in Commerce.
Within the industrial sector, leasing, construction and trade volume remains high. At the end of the third quarter, the region’s industrial market reached nine million square feet of absorption–the highest amount ever recorded, according to a third quarter report by Kidder Mathews. Projects under construction are barely keeping pace as well, with 10.7 million square feet in the pipeline. About 55 percent of this is pre-leased.
As a result, vacancy continues to decline, dropping to 4.7 percent in the third quarter. Sales volume has already surpassed 2020 levels, with $1.1 billion worth of assets during the first nine months of the year. Kidder Mathews notes that the market could pass the $1.2 billion mark set in 2019, as well. The market has not only been bolstered by e-commerce, but well-rounded employment growth and increased business capacity.
