New York Investor Sells Massive Industrial Asset in Pittsburgh

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Rugby Realty Co. Inc. recently closed on a major cash-out deal with the selling of the Amazon and ModCloth distribution center in Pittsburgh’s West End.

According to the Pittsburgh Business Times, an entity owned by suburban Philadelphia-based HaydenMaguire Real Estate Funds bought the property, which offers a total of 540,000 square feet, including 30,000 square feet of mezzanine office space, for $29 million, or $53 per square foot.

This amount is nearly four times more than the $7.375 million, or approximately $14 per square foot, that Rugby paid to buy the asset out of receivership less than four years ago. This acquisition occurred right after the New Rochelle, N.Y.-based company sold the downtown Pittsburgh office building 11 Stanwix for $66 million in 2011.

At the time of Rugby’s purchase, the warehouse was nearly empty. It is now fully leased to Seattle-based internet giant Amazon and ModCloth, the vintage and indie clothing e-commerce company launched out of Carnegie Mellon University.

Considered a Class B-quality asset, the facility is one of the largest industrial properties in the region. It is located at 2250 Roswell Drive near Crafton and offers easy access to the Parkway West and Interstate 79.

“In terms of actual dollars, it’s probably the biggest industrial sale in a very long time,” Lou Oliva, executive managing director of the Pittsburgh office of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, told the newspaper. “It’s a great deal for the market.”

The region has few industrial properties of more than 400,000 square feet. This lack of inventory, coupled with a strong demand for industrial assets, generated quite an interest in the property from various investors.

“People who may have been sitting on the fence about selling should have some confidence that there is an exit strategy and there’s investor interest in Pittsburgh,” added Maurice Ades, a principal for Rugby.

Photo credits: Point2 Homes via Google Maps