JV Enters High-Barrier Charlotte Submarket With $64M Acquisition

Premier Distribution Center. Image courtesy of Somerset Properties

Somerset Properties has broken into a traditionally difficult-to-enter industrial submarket of Charlotte, N.C., with its latest acquisition. The Pennsylvania-based company partnered with Waterfall Asset Management to purchase Premier Distribution Center from New York Life Insurance Co. and LRC Properties for $63.8 million.

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The 1.4-million-square-foot multi-tenant industrial complex was built with 24-foot clear ceiling heights, ESFR sprinkler systems, motion-sensor LED lighting, 110 loading positions, on-site parking and trailer storage on a 95-acre site. The transaction also included a nearly 26-acre undeveloped parcel next to the existing loading area that can accommodate a 330,000-square-foot cross-dock facility.

Located at 1900 Continental Blvd., Premier Distribution Center is situated at the interchange of Interstates 77 and 485, with nearby access to Interstate 85. The property is also roughly 11 miles from the Charlotte Douglas International Airport and downtown Charlotte. JLL Capital Markets’ Chris Norvell, Patrick Nally, Pete Pittroff and David Andrews represented the seller.

Charlotte’s southwest industrial submarket, where the property is located, has a high barrier of entry, according to JLL, and is also one of Southeast’s most institutionally owned industrial submarkets.

Somerset owns several office and multifamily properties in Charlotte, including 129 West Trade, a 153,498-square-foot tower the company purchased for $24 million in August 2018. The company’s portfolio also includes several industrial properties in the state, most of which are situated in Greensboro, N.C.

Multi-tenant makeover

The latest purchase in Charlotte though was an ideal fit for the company’s repositioning strategy, according to Mark White, managing principal at Somerset. First constructed as the North American headquarters for Continental Tire, the development was later converted into a modern distribution complex. According to White, the previous owners began transitioning the property from a single-tenant manufacturing facility to a multi-tenant distribution warehouse.

White added that Somerset will continue the improvements that will allow Premier Distribution Center to be used for logistics, warehousing and light manufacturing. The renovations will include new dock-high loading doors that will make shipping and receiving easier.