Kosei Expands North American Footprint

By Laura Calugar

Port Union E aerial view, Cincinnati

Cincinnati—Becknell Industrial recently announced that it has leased its facility in West Chester, Ohio, 18 miles north of downtown Cincinnati, in less than six months after construction broke ground. North American distributor of aluminum wheels Kosei will occupy the remaining 48,000 square feet in Building E at Port Union. Honda Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. are currently amongst Kosei’s customers.

Plante Moran CRESA represented Kosei in this transaction, while CBRE represented Becknell. The building is scheduled for completion early this spring and Polymet Corp. will occupy 90,750 square feet.

Located in the southeastern corner of Ohio, the 138,750 square-foot Port Union is situated 35 miles from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Port Union E has 28-foot clear height, an ESFR sprinkler system, a 130-foot truck court with 60-foot concrete apron and high efficiency building systems. The warehouse will also feature 14 docks and two drive-in doors.

“This location provides Kosei with excellent visibility in space designed to accommodate their growth. Becknell now owns three buildings in Cincinnati and we continue to actively pursue additional build-to-suit and speculative development opportunities and acquisitions,” said Katrina Cupp, Becknell’s assistant vice president of investments, in a prepared statement.

Demand for industrial space in Greater Cincinnati continues to be very strong. According to CBRE Research, the market closed the year with record net absorption and ended with over 5.3 million square feet of positive net absorption, the highest figure since 2005. Moreover, the market saw 4.6 million square feet of construction completions, 78 percent of which are speculative projects.

Image courtesy of CBRE