Realterm Buys IOS Portfolio for $111M

Realterm has closed an industrial outdoor storage investment deal involving 22 properties in nine states, primarily in the Sunbelt. Axis Partners sold the portfolio spanning some 80 acres for $111 million, with the assistance of an Eastdil Secured team led by Nick Murphy.

The acquisition expands and reinforces Realterm’s presence in key transportation and distribution corridors throughout the U.S. The portfolio comprises modern and recently renovated IOS, fleet maintenance and HFT facilities in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

According to Axis, which had assembled and owned the portfolio in partnership with Sweetwater Holdings since 2024, the market breakdown includes Atlanta (38 percent); Columbus, Ohio (6 percent); Los Angeles (5 percent); Nashville, Tenn. (4 percent) and Jacksonville, Fla. (4 percent). The remaining balance is situated in smaller Southeast markets.

Joe Noon, senior vice president of investments at Realterm, said in prepared remarks the fundamentals driving demand for IOS and HFT facilities in those markets remain strong as freight lanes shift. He added the firm is seeing sustained growth in fleet maintenance and transload logistics that make highly functional, well-located assets like those in the Axis portfolio increasingly valuable to operators.

Well-leased portfolio

The portfolio was 95 percent leased at the time of sale. The tenant mix comprises a diversified group of national, regional and local firms within a wide variety of industries.

The properties include 14 maintenance facilities, seven transload buildings and one truck terminal. Other uses include bulk materials/equipment storage, equipment rental and traditional industrial buildings. They have an average building size of 14,800 square feet on approximately 4 acres, providing highly functional space with multiple maintenance bays, transload and warehousing capabilities, expansive outdoor storage areas, secured access and comprehensive site lighting.

One of the properties, located at 7030 Queens Ferry Road PI SE in Mableton, Ga., is a 20,923-square-foot building on 4.5 acres that has 11 grade-level doors and six bays. The portfolio also includes 1118 Belt Parkway in Laredo, a 31,518-square-foot facility on 6.5 acres. The asset has a 24-foot clear height, 21 dock-high doors and a 1,518-square-foot office.

Recent Realterm activity

Realterm, an Annapolis, Md.,-based independent global manager focused on the transportation industry, has more than $13 billion in assets under management. The firm acquires, develops, finances and manages real estate and infrastructure assets serving land, air, sea and rail networks across the world.

In November, Realterm acquired two IOS facilities totaling 102,220 square feet that are fully leased by ID Logistics in Scranton, Pa. The assets have a combined 19,755 square feet of office space, 61,922 square feet of terminal shallow-bay warehouse space and 20,543 square feet of maintenance space.

A month earlier, Realterm, in a joint venture with institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, acquired a seven-property national IOS portfolio in Phoenix, Atlanta, Laredo and El Paso in Texas, the Inland Empire in California, Central Pennsylvania and Wichita, Kan. The fully leased portfolio totals 312,357 square feet across 74.2 acres.

And in September, Realterm expanded into direct lending to address a financing gap in the industrial sector, with a focus on transportation-advantaged IOS properties. The firm closed its first Realterm Logistics Credit Fund and co-investment vehicle with $350 million in capital commitments.