Bridge Investment, Townsend Launch Logistics JV

Image by Aron Yigin via Unsplash.com

A Bridge Investment Group affiliate has partnered with The Townsend Group to invest in logistics assets across gateway markets in the U.S. Bridge Logistics Value Fund II and Townsend will deploy $147 million for the acquisition, development and operation of logistics assets, with an option to raise that number to $200 million. A prior partnership between the two firms committed $335 million of equity to similar assets.

The joint venture is part of Bridge Investment Group’s focus on gateway infill markets, Bridge Logistics Properties CEO Jay Cornforth said in prepared remarks, saying he expects the firm’s commitment to that sector will benefit from long-standing secular trends.

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BLP has been targeting infill logistics assets in markets with low supply. Last year, the company acquired a Class A industrial building in Grand Prairie, Texas, from Landmark Cos., according to CommercialEdge data. That deal followed the purchase of a two-building industrial property in Linden, N.J., from Embee Associates earlier in 2022.

BLP, which is a subsidiary of Salt Lake City-based Bridge Investment Group, recently established its fourth regional headquarters in Dallas. The other three headquarters are located in New Jersey, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Townsend, which has its U.S. offices in Cleveland and San Francisco, has invested $11.2 billion in logistics globally since 2015.

Despite the negative trends impacting U.S. commercial real estate, the industrial sector has been faring well, with asking rents increasing in recent months. Vacancy rates have remained low, thanks to a strong demand for industrial space. However, those numbers are expected to moderate in the coming months.