By Jon Peterson
Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Real Estate Investors has closed on the acquisition of the 195,546 square foot Hitachi Hillsboro R&D facility in Hillsboro located at 3600 Northeast Huffman Street. The purchase price on the transaction was $57.4 million, or $293 per square foot, as stated by sources aware of the transaction.
Principal did confirm that it acquired the property but declined to make any other statements about the acquisition.
The seller and developer of the property was Dallas-based Trammell Crow Company, and the company had recently delivered the property to the marketplace. The listing agent on the sale was the CBRE Pacific Northwest Capital Markets team, which included Paige Morgan and Tom Pehl, both executive vice presidents, and Charles Safley, senior vice president. CBRE declined to comment when contacted for this story.
The original plan on the sale was for CBRE to provide a wide marketing effort for the sellers. The interest in the property was quick, however, with Principal coming through with a really strong offer, according to sources that have been tracking the sale of the asset.
The building is presently 100 percent leased to Hitachi High-Tech America (HTA). The lease on the property is for 10 years on a triple-net basis. The asset will be used by HTA for its North America operations. The tenant plans to be fully operational in the building by 2023. The tenant has made a significant investment into the property that shows its commitment to the asset beyond the lease it has it has in place now.
There is a potential to expand the property in the future. There was excess land that was part of the sale of the property, which would allow the new ownership to expand the asset in the future. An additional 100,000 square feet could be added to the site at some point in the future, according to sources.
The current makeup of the property could allow it to be converted into another use in the future if for some reason Hitachi decides to move on from the property. One alternative use for the building would be to convert it into a warehouse, since the property has a 32-foot clear height design.
Hitachi announced earlier this year plans to expand in the city at the Hillsboro Technology Park. According to a story by The Oregonian, Hitachi will be working to consolidate and expand its technology development capabilities in the United States through this facility, according to the company.
Electronics manufacturing is one of the largest industries in the state of Oregon. According to the story, the sector exported nearly $11 billion in products in 2020, which represented nearly half the state’s total exports. Intel, which operates a manufacturing facility in the state and employs 21,000 people, works with Hitachi and counts the Japanese technology giant as one of its main suppliers.
