Arden Logistics Parks Purchases Boston Portfolio

Arden Logistics Parks Greater Boston Portfolio Acquisition. Image courtesy of Arden Logistics Parks

Arden Logistics Parks, launched six months ago as a logistics real estate operating platform specializing in acquiring, improving and managing light industrial business parks across the U.S., has entered the Greater Boston area with the purchase of an eight-property portfolio totaling 1.3 million square feet.

The seller and the price paid for the warehouse and distribution facilities located in six communities were not disclosed by ALP President & Chief Investment Officer Shike Goedar, Chief Operating Officer Barbara Rea and Christian Vergilio, director of acquisitions.

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Vergilio said in a prepared statement the acquisition of the portfolio allows ALP, established by Arden Group in November 2021, to achieve meaningful scale in a hyper-local market where large portfolio trades are rare. He said the team believes the Greater Boston industrial market is one of the hottest in the country because demand remains extremely high, driving rents to record levels. Vergilio noted the fundamentals have strengthened even further over the past 18 months due to the exponential growth of e-commerce, stockpiling of inventory and supply chain outsourcing.

The acquisition opportunity was sourced through Roy Sandeman and Scott Dragos of CBRE’s Boston office.

Portfolio details

The portfolio consists of eight buildings constructed between 1968 and 2016 in six locations across the Boston Metro South industrial market. The area benefits from direct access to the region’s most traveled interstates and thoroughfares including Interstate 495, Interstate 93, Interstate 95 and Route 24. The facilities are currently 98 percent leased to 24 national, regional and local tenants. The properties have average clear heights of 24 feet and also offer a mix of office space.

The properties are located at: 60 Maple St., Mansfield, Mass.; 20 Townsend Road, Attleboro, Mass.; 45 Vineyard Road, Seekonk, Mass.; 55 Samuel Barnet Blvd., New Bedford, Mass.; 81 Commerce Drive, Fall River, Mass.; and 10, 15 and 50 Commerce Way in Norton, Mass.

Earlier deals

In addition to the newly acquired Boston industrial properties, ALP’s national portfolio of last-mile logistics facilities includes assets in the Atlanta; Dallas; Houston; Philadelphia; Indianapolis; Columbus, Ohio; Charlotte, N.C.; San Antonio, Texas; and Tampa, Fla., markets.

Arden Group, a privately held, Philadelphia-based real estate fund manager, investor and operator, launched ALP late last year as a logistics real estate operating platform targeting small- and medium-bay, multi-tenant warehouses in in-fill urban locations across the U.S.

ALP is functioning as the consumer-facing brand for Arden Group’s joint venture with Arcapita, a partnership that was launched with the acquisition of an industrial portfolio with more than 7 million square feet of assets. The original portfolio had more than 32 properties and about 1,100 tenants, and was reportedly valued at more than $800 million.

Before the ALP was established, one of Arden Group’s other industrial acquisitions included a 2.1 million-square-foot, 12-property portfolio in several states funded through a two-part, $163 million loan package from CIT Bank and BlackRock.