Stonecrop Technologies Inks 527 KSF Lease in Columbus

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

3500 Southwest Blvd. in Grove City, Ohio

Plymouth Industrial REIT Inc. has procured Stonecrop Technologies to occupy all 527,127 square feet of 3500 Southwest Blvd. in Grove City, Ohio, with a three-year lease that begins March 15.

“It’s a big lease, around five percent of our entire portfolio, so it means a lot to us,” Jeff Witherell, Plymouth Industrial REIT’s chairman & CEO, told Commercial Property Executive. “We bought the property knowing that Pier One had been there for a long time and might be consolidating.”

Once it acquired the asset, Plymouth put a new roof on the building, added LED lighting and made repairs to all the dock doors. The company is also planning on renovating the front office space and fixing the concrete in the loading area. 

“It’s significant improvements, and is basically a new building when you compare it to other industrial sites,” Witherell said. “One of the biggest things about this is its excellent location.”

3500 Southwest Blvd. in Grove City, Ohio

The wireless systems deployment company is headquartered in Petaluma, Calif., and its lease in the building includes annual rent increases and one three-year renewal option. The lease also includes an option to terminate, with penalties, should certain local economic incentives fail to materialize by March 27.

The property is situated in the southwest submarket, which has a great labor pool. It’s close to major distribution centers and is much sought after in all of Columbus, when it comes to industrial space.

“The last tenant just moved out on 12/31 and we had several people interested, and in February, Stonecrop Technologies showed up,” Witherell said. “It was record time. It’s a testament to two things. First, the market is hot. Second, we have roots on the ground in Columbus so we could move very quickly.”

New office

In other news at the company, Plymouth Industrial REIT also opened its first regional office in Columbus, serving its properties in the city, along with those in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Indiana.

According to Witherell, Ohio and Indiana are two big markets for the company, with more than 3 million square feet of its 10 million-square-foot portfolio represented there.

“The people who will be in the office will be responsible for property management in those areas,” he said. “There is a cost savings associated with it, but the primary motivating factor for doing this is to deliver superior service to our tenants.”

Benjamin Crock will serve as regional property manager and lead the office. Crock previously served in a similar capacity for Cushman & Wakefield in Columbus.

In January, Plymouth Industrial REIT acquired a light manufacturing building in Elgin, Ill., a northwest suburb of Chicago and the property’s 75,047 square feet was leased back to Burndy Engineering, a division of Hubbell Corp., which sold the property in a $4.1 million all-cash transaction. In December, the company paid nearly $100 million to acquire a 15-property industrial portfolio in Chicago from Goldman Sachs.

Images courtesy of Plymouth Industrial REIT