BentallGreenOak-Led JV Pays $126M for Miami Industrial Assets

AVE Aviation & Commerce Center. Image courtesy of AVE Aviation & Commerce Center

A partnership of BentallGreenOak and Bridge Development Partners has acquired four industrial properties and 1 million square feet of development rights at a mixed-use Miami business park for $126 million. The seller was CPF Investment Group. The buildings are located within the 2.6 million-square-foot AVE Aviation & Commerce Center, located adjacent to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.

Situated at 14350 NW 56^th Court, about 16 miles northwest of downtown Miami, the AVE Aviation & Commerce Center sits within the Miami Lakes industrial submarket and is one of the largest business parks in the area. The 100 percent occupied property is leased to a mix of tenants including Turbopower, Boars Head, Johnson Controls, Rolls Royce and Herbalife.

The properties in the deal include a 478,000-square-foot USPS mail sorting facility that handles all domestic mail in South Florida and three Class A buildings that together comprise 470,000 square feet. The development rights included in the transaction entail 15 acres at the site that are currently occupied by Off Lease Only, a wholesale car dealership.

AVE Aviation & Commerce Center will retain its ownership of 41 acres of land at the site, including a parcel where a Fairfield Inn & Suites is set to be developed and 28 acres of aeronautical space is planned to be the future home of Banyan Air Services.

A “tremendous” location

Ernesto Cambo, principal of CPF Investment Group, said the buyers were drawn to the properties due to the competitive rental prices and strategic location.

“The deal was attractive because AVE is a unique Class-A infill industrial asset with the highest net rents in the marketplace,” Cambo told Commercial Property Executive. “It’s rent roll is risk mitigated in size and across several business sectors: logistics, automotive, aviation, distribution and food. The vacant land allows for investors to acquire an extremely well-positioned asset with a risk adjusted return in a proven submarket which happens to be in a tremendous location.”

Wayne Schuchts of Avison Young represented Bridge Development Partners and BentallGreenOak in the deal, while Ernesto Casal of Casal Group represented AVE Aviation and Commerce Center.