BlackRock Picks Up Amazon Warehouse on Long Island

The recently upgraded asset more than quadrupled its value since its last sale in 2019.

100 Precision Drive. Image courtesy of Woodmont Industrial Partners

Woodmont Industrial Partners has finalized the sale of a 130,565-square-foot industrial asset in Shirley, N.Y., concluding its ownership of less than two years. BlackRock Real Assets paid $30.7 million for the Class A Long Island asset, which is fully leased on a long-term basis to Amazon. 

The New Jersey-based seller’s strategic transformation of 100 Precision Drive following its $7.2 million purchase in August 2019 paid off. The repositioned asset attracted the e-commerce giant, which committed to the entire facility in 2020. Amazon is also using the adjacent 6.5-acre land parcel, a parking lot for up to 220 vehicles, equipped with electric car charging stations.

Built in 2002, the 12.7-acre site is located on the South Shore of Long Island, along Interstate 495 (Long Island Expressway), with last-mile distribution access to the eastern part of the island. The property’s upgrades retouched the infrastructure and the buildings itself, resulting in a new ESFR sprinkler system and LED lighting, a new HVAC system, additional dock doors, as well as the replacement of the roof.

BlackRock was behind the largest industrial transaction within the emerging Phoenix-West submarket last year. The company paid $72.5 million to CBRE Global Investors for Southwest Industrial Center I, a 684,420-square-foot warehouse that neighbors another Amazon site.

Betting on Long Island and beyond

According to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report that analyzes the Long Island industrial market, the overall vacancy rate fell to a historical low at only 4 percent in the last quarter of 2020. Transaction volume retracted 10.5 percent year-over-year, hitting 697,411 square feet. The lack of supply—coupled with increased demand for warehouse space—pushed rental rates to $11.9 per square foot, marking a 23 percent increase since last year.

Woodmont is set to pick up additional 2 million square feet of value-add and development opportunities within the next year. The company’s portfolio of roughly 5 million square feet is spread across major intermodal markets such as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida.

In early 2021, Woodmont partnered with EverWest Real Estate Investors to acquire a 144,500-square-foot warehouse in Northern New Jersey. The South Brunswick distribution facility traded for nearly $20 million in a sale-leaseback deal.

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