Irvine-based real estate investment firm expands further into growing Atlanta and Charlotte submarkets.
IRVINE, California (August 28, 2020) – Real estate investment company, CIP Real Estate LLC, has completed four off-market industrial and business park acquisitions in the East Coast’s sought-after Charlotte and Atlanta markets within the last 90 days, totaling $239.4 million. The entire portfolio, which consists of 34 buildings that total 1,981,720 square feet, is over 91% leased by more than 100 tenants.
“Each of these transactions demonstrates our overarching investment strategy, which is to acquire quality product in thriving submarkets in order to generate strong cash flow and returns over time,” says Eric C. Smyth, CEO of CIP Real Estate. “Industrial real estate continues to outperform other commercial property types, so these acquisitions were a great value opportunity for our firm. They provide for critical mass in both Atlanta and Charlotte, two of our company’s primary investment markets.” CIP Real Estate’s recent acquisitions include:
Acquisition #1: CIP Acquires Industrial and Flex Office Space in Atlanta, GA
Gwinnett Commons was acquired in August 2020 for $126.6 million. The portfolio, located in Atlanta’s I-85 Northeast corridor consists of 1,089,000 square feet of multi-tenant industrial mid-bay and flex office space in 16 buildings, plus two land parcels totaling 678,664 square feet (15.58 acres) for future development. The Cushman & Wakefield team of Stewart Calhoun and Casey Masters represented the Seller. J.R. Wright of Strategic Real Estate Partners will remain as a leasing broker for the portfolio
Acquisition #2: Four Multi-Tenant Industrial/Business Parks Acquired in Prime Charlotte MSA
A Charlotte Industrial Park Portfolio was purchased in June 2020 by CIP Real Estate for a total of $75.5 million. The portfolio encompasses approximately 560,000 square feet across 14 buildings in four separate multi-tenant industrial and business parks situated in strategic locations in the greater Charlotte MSA. The Charlotte CBRE team of Patrick Gildea, Matt Smith, Anne Johnson, Bryan Crutcher, and Grayson Hawkins represented the Seller in the sale.
Acquisition #3: Two-Building Industrial Project and Land Parcel Located Near Downtown Charlotte
Whitehall Tech Center was acquired by CIP Real Estate in June 2020 for $28 million. The portfolio is a two-building industrial project of 205,000 square feet and a 7.5-acre land parcel for development of a third multi-tenant mid-bay building or a build-to-suit opportunity consisting of 75,000 square feet. Whitehall Tech Center is located in a prime sub-market just ten miles from downtown Charlotte at the confluence of the 485 and 77 freeways in the large Whitehall master-planned community.
Acquisition #4: CIP Acquires Mid-Bay Industrial and Distribution Units in Atlanta
Pleasantdale Industrial Park was also acquired in June 2020 by CIP Real Estate for $9.3 million. This two-building Atlanta portfolio is ideally located immediately adjacent to the I-85 freeway just five miles south of Gwinnett Commons at the intersection of the I-285 Beltway. The project consists of approximately 127,000 square feet of mid-bay industrial and distribution units. Ryan Blackburn of Foundry Commercial represented CIP Real Estate while the Seller represented itself in the transaction.
CIP Real Estate plans to allocate significant funds to the overall portfolio for capital improvements relating to development opportunities, major interior renovations, and tenant improvements. The firm currently owns and manages nearly 2.9 million square feet of industrial and business park product in the Southeast market.
“Multi-tenant industrial remains a sought-after product in the industrial investment sector, which will likely continue to increase in demand as we move into Q3 and Q4 as a direct result of stay-at-home buying and the resurgence of factory production,” Smyth adds. “We look forward to continuing to build on our strategic partnership with Almanac Realty Investors and focus on acquiring more industrial park assets in the Southeast as we grow our portfolio to over $1 billion nationally in the next three years.”
About CIP Real Estate LLC
CIP Real Estate LLC is a full-service real estate investment company focused on the acquisition, repositioning, re-branding, and management of industrial assets throughout West Coast, Southeast, and Southwest markets. Founded in 1995 and based in Irvine, CA, the company owns and manages approximately 6.4 million square feet of quality properties, with offices in Ontario (CA), Riverside (CA), Hayward (CA), Las Vegas, Charlotte, and Atlanta. www.ciprealestate.com
About Almanac
Almanac Realty Investors, a division of Neuberger Berman, together with its predecessors, has been making growth capital investments into private and public companies which own and operate real estate in North America since 1996. Almanac managed funds have committed over $5.5 billion to 44 companies. Almanac’s portfolio companies are designed to combine proven management teams within a specific real estate sector together with ownership of focused portfolios of real estate assets and interests.
www.almanacrealty.com