Industrial property sells as part of national portfolio deal

Ascent Commerce Center, a speculative Class A warehouse/ distribution center in Commerce City, was sold as part of an eight property, 4.7-million-square-foot industrial portfolio to PGIM Real Estate.

Crow Holdings’ real estate investment management company Crow Holdings Capital completed the sale of the portfolio comprising 15 buildings across five markets, including Commerce City, Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas, and Phoenix. PGIM Real Estate purchased the portfolio for a total value of $425 million. PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment and financing business of PGIM, the global investment management business of Prudential Financial Inc.

All of the assets are newly constructed or still under construction, including Ascent Commerce Center, a three-building, 594,400-sf complex at Tower Road and East 84th Avenue. Crow Holdings Capital in partnership with Lincoln Property Co. broke ground on the development within the Nexus at DIA master-planned business park earlier this year. The buildings, slated for delivery in the fourth quarter of this year and first quarter of 2021, feature dock high and drive-in loading, ESFR sprinklers and trailer storage/ parking. Two of the buildings feature a front-park, rear-load design and 32-foot ceilings and the largest of the three, a cross dock building, has 36-foot ceilings.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has not only supported the continued rise of e-commerce and distribution demand across the U.S., but it has significantly accelerated the existing trend,” Cathy Marcus, global chief operating officer and head of U.S. equity for PGIM Real Estate, said in a release. “As many more retailers and international corporations enter the U.S. industrial market or expand their presence in the sector, these state-of-the-art properties will be an attractive component of our broader industrial portfolio. They will benefit from long-term market growth and have the functionality needed to support the next generation of users.”

“This transaction enabled us to capitalize on an extremely rare opportunity to acquire a large, high-quality industrial portfolio that would have otherwise taken years to build or assemble,” added Frank Garcia, managing director and senior portfolio manager for PGIM Real Estate’s U.S. core strategy.

Steven Oliveira, executive director, and Kevin Interlicchio and Laura Nugent, associate vice presidents, of PGIM Real Estate’s transactions team led the portfolio acquisition on the firm’s behalf.

This sale also represents one of the largest portfolios of industrial assets to sell during the COVID- 19 pandemic.

“Our team constructed this portfolio of state-of-the-art industrial properties in key markets with immediate access to critical infrastructure to be attractive to both institutional buyers and high-quality tenants,” said Bob McClain, CEO of Crow Holdings Capital. “We take great pride in our ability to construct, lease and monetize such an impressive collection of industrial assets during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Featured in the September 16-October 6, 2020, issue of CREJ