Cushman & Wakefield Inks Landmark Industrial Sale in Charleston
Trade of 1.1 MSF Bulk Distribution Facility a Stamp of Approval for Port Market.
- Charleston-North Charleston, SC (1888PressRelease) February 24, 2011 - Commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.'s New Jersey-based Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group, in collaboration with its Georgia-based Southeast Capital Markets Group and independently owned and operated alliance partner Coppedge & Tison of Charleston, has arranged the sale of a 1.1 million-square-foot bulk distribution facility in Charleston.
US Industrial REIT III, an affiliate of USAA Real Estate Company, purchased the newly developed, Class A property from developer Rockefeller Group Development Corporation (RGDC) and its joint-venture partner, MeadWestvaco Corporation (MWV).
Cushman & Wakefield's Andrew Merin and Stewart Calhoun, and Coppedge & Tison's John Coppedge and Ed Kercher headed the team that represented the RGDC/MWV partnership and procured USAA as the buyer in the transaction. "This sale provides a textbook example of Cushman & Wakefield's brokerage teams and alliance partners coming together to leverage the strengths of our global platform, capital markets expertise and deep, local market knowledge to close major deals," Merin said.
"The scope and impact of this trade make it a landmark transaction for the Charleston market," Calhoun noted. "We saw significant interest by national and international investors, who were drawn by the fact that this is a newly constructed, single-tenant building in a port city. Its offering certainly was closely watched by the real estate and business communities."
The LEED Gold-certified cross-dock distribution facility, which is fully occupied, sits on 124 acres in the Rockefeller Group-MeadWestvaco Foreign Trade Zone. "We are pleased to add this exceptional, state-of-the art property in a select location to the US Industrial REIT III portfolio of quality assets," said USAA Real Estate Company Chairman and CEO Pat Duncan.
The site is located 25 miles north of the Port of Charleston, one of the deepest ports in the Southeast. It currently is undergoing a 10-year expansion to include a sixth terminal and an additional 1.4 million TEU capacity.
"The widening of the Panama Canal, which will be completed in 2014, has brought a great deal of attention to East Coast Ports," Coppedge noted. "This transaction will be seen as another stamp of approval for Charleston and what can be done here."
The distribution facility is one of four proposed buildings that make up approximately 2.7 square feet of master-planned distribution space off I-26 along the Charleston Distribution Corridor in Berkeley County.
"The Charleston market is ideally located for distribution centers serving the entire East Coast," said Edward Guiltinan, Sr., regional director of RGDC. "Beyond the port advantage, it is located half way between Miami and New York City, and it offers excellent access to interstate highways and Charleston International Airport."
About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield is the world's largest privately-held commercial real estate services firm. Founded in 1917, it has 230 offices in 60 countries and more than 13,000 employees. The firm represents a diverse customer base ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. It offers a complete range of services within five primary disciplines: Transaction Services, Capital Markets, Client Solutions, Consulting Services and Valuation & Advisory. A recognized leader in global real estate research, the firm publishes a broad array of proprietary reports available on its online Knowledge Center at www.cushmanwakefield.com.
About USAA Real Estate Company
USAA Real Estate Company, with approximately $6 billion assets under management, provides co-investment, acquisition, build-to-suit and development services for corporate and institutional investors. The USAA portfolio consists of office, industrial, multi-family, retail and hotel properties as well as investments in real estate operating companies with annual volume transactions exceeding $3 billion. USAA Real Estate is a subsidiary of USAA, a leading financial services company, serving military families since 1922. For more information, visit www.usrealco.com.
About MeadWestvaco
MeadWestvaco Corporation (NYSE: MWV), provides packaging solutions to many of the world's most admired brands in the healthcare, beauty and personal care, food, beverage, home and garden, tobacco, and commercial print industries. The company's businesses also include Consumer & Office Products, Specialty Chemicals, and the Community Development and Land Management Group, which sustainably manages the company's land holdings to support its operations, and to provide for conservation, recreation and development opportunities. With 19,000 employees worldwide, MWV operates in 30 countries and serves customers in more than 100 nations. For more information, visit www.mwv.com.
About Rockefeller Group Development Corporation
RGDC is a national owner, developer, and manager of prestigious commercial real estate properties. Its development capabilities include corporate headquarters, landmark properties, multi-use urban complexes, multinational distribution facilities, suburban business parks, and foreign trade zones. RGDC, with regional offices in Arizona, California, Florida and New Jersey, is an operating company of The Rockefeller Group, developer of Rockefeller Center in New York City. For more information, visit www.rockgroupdevelopment.com.
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