PS Business Parks Grows Mid-Atlantic Industrial Footprint

By Barbra Murray

Northern Virginia Industrial Park and Fullerton Industrial Park

PS Business Parks Inc. has enhanced its footprint in Northern Virginia by 1.1 million square feet in one fell swoop. In a transaction valued at $143.3 million, the REIT purchased a last-mile portfolio consisting of Northern Virginia Industrial Park and Fullerton Industrial Park from MRP Realty and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. With the closing of the portfolio acquisition, PSB’s presence in Northern Virginia now consists of 5 million square feet of industrial, flex and office space.

“This transaction represents a confluence of the seller’s desire to capitalize on its successful repositioning and lease-up of the portfolio and the buyer’s desire to invest in well-located, light industrial facilities within a major metropolitan market that exhibits extremely strong demographics,” Gerry Trainor, an executive vice president with real estate firm Transwestern, said in a prepared statement. Transwestern spearheaded the marketing of the asset.

Situated on 65 acres roughly 13 miles from Washington, D.C., the portfolio encompasses 19 buildings constructed between 1968 and 1992. Northern Virginia Industrial in Lorton offers 814,000 square feet across 15 structures, while the collection’s remaining four buildings are located in Springfield at Fullerton Industrial, which features 242,000 square feet of space.

The portfolio was 76 percent occupied at the time of sale. However, PSB has a plan for bolstering the tenant roster. “We have a strong team in place ready to execute on our strategy of building and leasing small-bay industrial suites,” Maria Hawthorne, president & CEO of PS Business Parks, said in prepared remarks. “We are confident that these properties will achieve the same occupancy and rent growth we have accomplished in our other locations in this market.”

Buy some, sell some

PSB has engaged in a few dispositions this year as well. In a $41.7 million deal, the company sold Corporate Pointe Business Park, a 160,000-square-foot office park in Orange County, Calif.  Similarly, PSB sold Orange County Business Center, another Orange County office campus. The company also has a Dallas property in the disposition pipeline, in addition to another Orange County asset.

PSB also anticipates more purchases on the horizon, challenges in the investment sales market notwithstanding. “Bidding is aggressive for flex and industrial products, no matter the size of the portfolio,” Hawthorne said during the company’s first quarter 2018 earnings conference call on April 25. “We remain focused on identifying underperforming and value-add properties with an investment strategy that is tied to acquiring quality assets that are ultimately accretive. Capital flows and competitive buying behavior are at all-time highs in the markets we operate.”

Image courtesy of Transwestern