Plymouth Buys Stake in Industrial JV for $103M

In a stroke, the REIT has taken full ownership of a 28-building portfolio in Greater Memphis.

4985 Outland Center Drive, Memphis, Tenn.

4985 Outland Center Drive, Memphis, Tenn. Image courtesy of Plymouth Industrial REIT Inc.

With the stroke of a pen, Plymouth Industrial REIT Inc. has become the sole owner of a 2.3 million-square-foot portfolio in metropolitan Memphis, Tenn. The REIT acquired the 80 percent stake in Plymouth MIR JV LLC from joint venture partner Madison International Realty in a transaction valued at $102.6 million, including the assumption of $56 million in existing debt.

The transfer in ownership of the 28-building industrial portfolio to one partner does not come as a complete surprise to industry watchers. “The joint venture with Madison was initiated in late 2020 with our ability to acquire the properties from them at some future point,” Jeff Witherell, chairman & CEO of Plymouth Industrial REIT Inc., told Commercial Property Executive.


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In October 2020, Plymouth announced the $150 million equity joint venture with Madison, one of Plymouth’s largest shareholders at the time, for the purpose of acquiring value-add and opportunistic industrial assets in key markets across the U.S. And just two months later in December 2020, the 20/80 MIR JV acquired the Memphis portfolio from Faropoint for $86 million in a deal the joint venture financed with $30 million in cash and the aforementioned $56 million mortgage, which came in the form of a seven-year loan from Minnesota Life.

The portfolio, which was 96 percent leased to more than 50 tenants at the time of acquisition, consists of 16 single-tenant buildings and 12 multi-tenant structures in Memphis and nearby Olive Branch, Miss. The facilities are well-located, sitting within close proximity to Memphis International Airport, the FedEx World Hub and the BNSF Railway complex. Plymouth, in its role as asset manager for the joint venture over the last couple of years, has overseen capital improvements to the properties and has spearheaded the increase in rental rates as well as growth in tenancy.

Hitting all the right notes

The Memphis industrial market has been performing extremely well, as evidenced by the record-breaking numbers. Total annual net absorption of 13 million square feet in 2021 marked an all-time high for metropolitan Memphis, according to a fourth quarter 2021 report by JLL, and that was in the face of a record 10.6 million square feet of new construction added to the inventory.

While Memphis has its share of e-commerce and 3PL tenants, its industrial demand drivers are quite diverse. Looking ahead, the auto industry will give the market quite a boost. Ford Motor Co. is planning to develop its largest-ever automotive production campus, the 3,600-acre Blue Oval City, at the Memphis Regional Megasite. Experts expect the $5.6 billion project to spur spillover demand for industrial space from auto parts manufacturers and other associated contractors that will service the massive Ford plant.

Plymouth plans to continue to be a significant presence in the area. “The Memphis market is a strong distribution and manufacturing location, and we are actively growing our portfolio there,” Witherell said. With the acquisition of Madison’s stake in MIR JV, Plymouth’s presence in the Greater Memphis area now totals 4.3 million square feet.

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