Northern Virginia Industrial Portfolio Changes Hands

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

MRP Realty and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management  have acquired Northern Virginia Industrial Park, a 15-building, 813,725-square-foot portfolio in Lorton, Va., from a fund managed by Ares Management LP and Adler Group.

Transwestern brokered the disposition of the property. The price was not disclosed.

“The major appeal is that it’s close-in industrial and the vast majority of closer-in product is disappearing; it’s being torn down for residential or retail, higher or better uses,” Gerry Trainor, Transwestern’s Mid-Atlantic capital markets group’s executive managing director, told Commercial Property Executive. “As the industrial supply dwindles, it creates an opportunity for rents to go up.”

Each of the 15 buildings offers multiple dock doors and drive-in bays, clear-ceiling heights of 18 to 22 feet and the ability to serve both large and small-bay tenants.

Located at the intersection of Telegraph Road and Lockport Place near Interstate 95, the Northern Virginia Industrial Park is an ideal location for companies serving northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C., metro area.

“At 52 acres continuous, the buyers view it as a covered land play in the long run, but in the short run, it’s good, solid industrial with rents that will continue to climb,” Trainor said. “It’s a growth area with good industrial in the area, and there’s strong demand for product.”

Northern Virginia Industrial Park was originally constructed in the ’80s, and the new owners are expected to spruce it up a bit, but have no plans for major capital improvements at this time.

According to Trainor, the portfolio is approximately 75 percent leased, providing stable, in-place income and the opportunity to increase revenue through the lease-up of vacant space and future rent growth.