Monmouth Buys $52M Mercedes Benz-Leased Facility

Mercedes Benz Sequencing Facility, Vance, Ala. Image courtesy of Graham & Co.

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. continues to bolster its portfolio ahead of its planned $4 billion acquisition by Industrial Logistics Properties Trust with the purchase of a 530,000-square-foot distribution center net leased to Mercedes Benz US International Inc., in the Greater Birmingham area of Alabama. The company bought the brand-new industrial facility, located at 11224 Will Walker Road in Vance, Ala., from Graham & Co. for $51.7 million.

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Sited approximately 35 miles southwest of downtown Birmingham, 11224 Will Walker delivered in 2021. Graham developed the facility as a build-to-suit for Mercedes, its second such project for the auto manufacturer on Will Walker Road in 15 years. Cooper Construction and Five South Architecture LLC acted as the design/build team for the fully air-conditioned, cross-dock distribution center, which is being utilized as a storage and sequencing center for vehicle parts to accommodate Mercedes’ new electric vehicle assembly line.

Mercedes’ lease term at 11224 Will Walker Road is 10 years. Monmouth, however, got more than a fully occupied building for its money. The facility’s location on a 53.5-acre site marks a land-to-building ratio of more than four times, thereby allowing Monmouth the potential to expand with additional development.

Something about Birmingham

Before Monmouth announced it had sealed a deal to be acquired by ILPT and end its status as one of the oldest public equity REITs in the world, the company had turned its attention to Birmingham and the enhancement of its presence in Alabama. In October 2021, Monmouth expanded its footprint in the metro area with the purchase of a new industrial facility at 3200 Rodeo Court in Bessemer. The company acquired the asset, which is net-leased to FedEx Ground Packaging System Inc., for $30.2 million.

Birmingham may not have the cachet of leading industrial markets in the U.S., but it has plenty to attract investors. “Thanks to the surging national demand for logistics and manufacturing facilities, Birmingham has a strong industrial market,” according to a fourth quarter 2021 report by Matthews Real Estate Investment Services. “Vacancies are around 2.9 percent, thanks to minimal speculative construction and consistent demand for space.”

It appears Monmouth still has time to make more acquisitions in Birmingham before its merger, as the transaction is scheduled to close in the first half of 2022.