by Matt Hudgins i CCIM.com
It didn't take long for Jeff Castell, CCIM, SIOR, to find a buyer for his client's 704,000-square-foot distribution center in Franklin, Ind., earlier this year. A prin- cipal at Cassidy Turley in Indianapolis, Castell knew the property's 32-foot clear heights and massive size fi t the needs of today's most active industrial users. And with his client planning to vacate the space aſt er the sale, there was an opportunity to capitalize on user demand in this suburb on the south side of Indianapolis, which is one of the most sought-aſt er markets for distribution centers in the country. Castell's team identified a tenant,
Anderson Merchandisers, to take the entire space, and, based on that lease, was able to sell the property in March to a joint venture of Alex. Brown Realty and Biynah Industrial Partners. Less than a month later, the joint venture sold the property again, to Stag Industrial, for a staggering $18 million or nearly $25 per sf.
Midwest in Demand
T e transactions underscore the brisk pace and healthy pricing of both leasing and investment deals today in the Midwest industrial markets, and particularly in Indi- anapolis, where proximity to large popula- tion centers and resurgent manufacturing is driving demand. "T ere's a combination of continued demand and lack of product in central Indiana," says Castell. "As a result, we've got between 3 million and 3.5 million sf of speculative construction under way right now." Industrial Developments International
is developing one of those speculative proj- ects, an 800,000-sf distribution building at AmeriPlex Business Park, next to Indianapo- lis International Airport, says the company's broker, Jeremy Woods, CCIM, SIOR. T e industrial vacancy rate in Indianapolis is 7 percent overall and a scant 5 percent for the most modern space, according to Woods, who is executive vice president at Summit
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