Ares Management Pockets $161M for Logistics Center

Savannah Logistics Center. Image courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield

An ASB Real Estate Investments fund has acquired Savannah Logistics Center, a 1.4 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in the Savannah, Ga., market from Ares Management for a reported $161 million.

The transaction for the three-building property in Pooler, Ga., was made on behalf of the Allegiance Real Estate Fund, a $7.9 billion core vehicle. The investment adds to ASB’s industrial holdings in the Savannah area. In October, the company acquired a recently constructed 166,400-square-foot, Class A building in Garden City, Ga.

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The price paid for the industrial portfolio near the Port of Savannah was $161 million, according to reporting by the IPE Real Assets.

For Ares, the sale comes roughly at the same time the global alternative investment manager acquired two industrial portfolios of 75 properties in 16 U.S. markets totaling 11.9 million square feet from two sellers for a combined price of $1.7 billion. One of the portfolios was a 14-building collection of assets in five master-planned industrial parks in Atlanta and Savannah owned by McDonald Development that sold for $395.5 million. The portfolio included two buildings totaling 520,000 square feet in the Georgia Commerce Center industrial park adjacent to the Port of Savannah.

Savannah Logistics Details

Located on S.H. Morgan Parkway, Savannah Logistics Center is a collection of three Class A tilt-wall logistics facilities. Situated on 84 acres just west of the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, the property is convenient to both Interstate 95 and Interstate 16 as well as the Garden City Terminal at the Port of Savannah. Savannah is the fourth-largest port in the U.S. and second-largest on the East Coast.

The portfolio includes two buildings at 1020 and 1024 S.H. Morgan Parkway that are 710,000 and 325,000 square feet, respectively, and fully leased to Matson Logistics. The third building at 101 S.H. Morgan Parkway totals 346,000 square feet and is fully leased to Outsource Logistics and Expeditors. The buildings have 30- to 32-foot clear ceiling heights, deep truck courts, ample trailer storage and security fencing.

Mary Murphy, ASB vice president, said in a prepared statement the properties feature an excellent location with proximity to the port and will help advance the firm’s goal of owning superior industrial assets in one of the nation’s most important transportation hubs and growing population center.

Cushman & Wakefield arranged the sale with Stewart Calhoun and Casey Masters representing Ares Management in the transaction. Stephen Ezelle of Gilbert & Ezelle Commercial Real Estate provided local leasing support.

ASB’s Industrial Portfolio

ASB’s nationwide industrial portfolio comprises 11.6 million square feet of space and is 99 percent leased. Its assets are located in markets such as Northern New Jersey, the Inland Empire, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, South Florida, Denver, and Savannah, Ga. The company has invested $1.3 billion in 19 industrial assets since 2018.

A division of ASB Capital Management LLC, ASB is a leading U.S. real estate investment management firm with more than $8.5 billion in gross assets under management for more than 325 institutional clients. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., ASB invests in major U.S. markets, concentrating on industrial, office, multifamily, retail and self storage properties.

In October, a joint venture of ASB Real Estate Investments and Endurance Real Estate purchased a 1.5 million- square-foot industrial center in York, Pa. Equity Industrial Partners sold the three-building, 119-acre property for $91 million. Asb acquired York Business Center on behalf of its Allegiance Real Estate Fund. ASB and Endurance are frequent partners, also teaming up in September to sell a 430,373-square-foot, multi-tenant industrial building in Bensalem, Pa., to EQT Exeter for nearly $42 million. ASB made the sale on behalf of its Meridian Real Estate Fund II.