Liberty Property Trust Expands Charlotte Industrial Portfolio

By Amalia Otet, Associate Editor

Liberty Property Trust, a $6.3 billion real estate investment trust that owns over 77 million square feet of office and industrial space in over 20 markets throughout the United States and the United Kingdom, recently announced it has closed on two significant deals in the Charlotte market.

The company acquired the seven-building, 1.08 million square-foot Crosspoint Center from TA Associates for $60.75 million. The industrial park sits on 78 acres and offers immediate access to both I-77 and I-85. It is 90 percent occupied, with approximately 102,000 square feet remaining available for lease.

“The acquisition of Crosspoint increases our Carolinas portfolio to approximately 6 million square feet, with 1.5 million square feet in Charlotte. Our goal is to build on this platform and increase our presence in the Carolinas, particularly in Raleigh and Charlotte,” said Massie Flippin, Liberty vice president and city manager in charge of the Carolinas region, in a press release.

Citybizlist reports that Liberty has also signed a long-term lease with Huntersville, N.C.-based American Tire Distributors, for a 156,000-square-foot build-to-suit warehouse at 4047 Perimeter West Drive. The $8 million project, designed to achieve LEED certification, is expected to break ground in November and be delivered in the summer of 2012.

In other news, Ravin Partners, a Charlotte-based multifamily development and construction firm, joined forces with Northwood Investors of New York, to provide property management, residential development and construction services on apartment projects across the Southeast through a newly formed entity, Northwood Ravin LLC, according to a Citybizlist story.

Earlier this year, Ravin Partners purchased Crosland’s market-rate multifamily development and construction departments when the latter decided to sell its operating divisions and focus mainly on asset management rather than development.

Northwood Ravin, led by former Crosland multifamily division president David Ravin, entered a deal to acquire Crosland’s remaining property management department which includes management contracts for 16 apartment properties totaling 3,100 units in North Carolina. With several projects under development in prime real estate markets such as Richmond, Va., Raleigh-Durham, N.C, and Atlanta, GA, Northwood Ravin is set to become one of the most active developers in the region.